Beyond the Darkness of Fate
by Djinn Crimsora
Summary: Konohagakure is gone & so is Hinata with the success of Orochimaru's invasion. What will happen now that Naruto has been forced to move to another village with the least likely of people from his past?
1. The Hands of Fate Begin to work

Disclaimer:

I am only going to say this once, and that will be here. I do **not** own Naruto and any other affiliated materials involving the Naruto universe. If I did, do you really think my stories would just be 'fanfiction'?

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Notice:

This is a preface chapter to stir the cauldron of ideas that I have floating around in my grey matter. There will be a small bit of header information here so as to give you a taste of my idea, but this is mostly going to get the annoying stuff out of the way. (cough disclaimer coughcough waiver cough).

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Author's Pre-emptive rambling:

Some of you may find that some of the materials characters and places and abilities may seem familiar. That will most likely be because of the fact that I've attained permission from Chaos666 to spin-off my own AU storyline from his story _Raised in Darkness_. So before I see any mobs with torches and pitch forks, I already got Chaos' approval. This also means if you've got a problem with there being English/Western stylizations in here, don't blame me, blame Chaos666.

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Small summary:

This story is aligned somewhat to that of 'Raised in Darkness' but with a twist that greatly changes from the direction Chaos666 is going in.

And here's the Preface!

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Jack Socrie was sitting at his desk within the city hall of the Village Hidden in the Darkness, retracing the battle that occurred ten years before. He could recall every small detail of that fateful night, and how it had changed the already strained relationship between his homeland and the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"_Lord Hokage, we found the infant!" cried a woman, bearing the jonin outfit and hitai-ite of Konoha._

_Sarutobi rushed over to her, followed by a man only a bit taller than himself. Attired in all black, from his boots to his leather trench coat. His long black hair was tied back into a ponytail that touched the base of his neck, just above the line of the shoulder blades. Sarutobi made no mention of the fact that the other man had yet to let go of the hilt of his rapier, which bore the inscription of 'hatred' on its scabbard. _

"_Hurry, hand him to me Sarutobi. If the elders find out about this, then they will most likely want to kill him," came the firm voice of the man in black, his eyes shifting around to monitor their surroundings._

"_No Jack, this infant is the last we have of Minato. His dying words were that his son be treated as a hero in this village, so we-"_

"_But you know as well as I do that the council will not tolerate the chance that he could end up as the reincarnation of Kyuubi. For his safety, he needs to leave Konoha." Jack stepped up beside the elder man, looking at the infant. "The only way is for me to bring him back to Ankokugakure and raise him as my own."_

_Just as Jack reached out his hands to take the infant, a man with white hair appeared and slapped them away._

"_No, Minato's last words are going to be carried out. The child will be raised here under __**our**__ protection. A village from the West has no right to try and make decisions for someone not of their blood," Jiraiya said, putting himself between Jack and Sarutobi, thus blocking Jack's view of the infant._

"_How dare you-"_

"_Lord Yamikage, that's enough."_

_The three men turned around to the new voice that they heard; it was from a mere boy dressed in the same attire as Jack, but his outfit was completely white as the word 'agony' slightly glowed on his face. His eyes were covered with a pair of sunglasses, despite it being the dead of night.  
_

"_We have witnessed that our 'friends' have no wish to do any further dealings with us 'Westerners', so we may as well take our leave of them and return to our village. We have much to deal with, considering we lost several scores of valuable Insane Devils," said the boy in white, turning his attention solely to the man who bore the same hitai-ite as he did._

_Turning to look one last time at Jiraiya and Sarutobi, Jack narrowed his eyes one last time before he closed his eyes. He knew nothing was going to change the minds of those of Konoha, so it meant nothing to him now whether the child lived or died. On the exterior anyway._

"_Fine."_

_Sarutobi signaled a Leaf nin to him and ordered he take the child to the Hokage Tower discretely before too long. The nin took the bundle from the Hokage, noting the striking resemblance the infant had to his deceased sensei. Adjusting his hitai-ite to cover his left eye, the leaf jonin disappeared in a swirl of leaves._

_Before leaving with his subordinate, Jack turned slightly back to face Sarutobi._

"_Just remember what Minato said, and watch as your people forsake the dying words of their greatest hero. Do not expect for us to help you if anything were to occur, as anything that now befalls Konoha after what has transpired this night will be mere karmic retribution for the faults you and your council have committed." He left the two men speechless as he and the white Ankoku nin departed in what seemed to be nothingness, the blackness of night having just absorbed them into itself without any warning._

_Jiraiya turned to Sarutobi. "We did the right thing, Sarutobi-sensei. Nothing good would have come of an alliance with any village from the West, especially those of Ankoku. Despite what my student Minato wanted to see happen, it's truly for the best."_

"_I hope you're right, Jiraiya."_

Jack hated that his friend, the only man he could call an equal outside of Ankoku, had his dying words thrown upon the ground and spat on as if he had been a traitor rather than the Yondaime Hokage. He knew that the boy used as the container for the Kyuubi no Kitsune had been left into the care of an orphanage in Konoha, but was kicked out to 'protect the other children from the demon brat'. He knew of how the villagers were always hunting him down to try and kill him or degrade him for something that had been out of his control.

Yes, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Darkness knew of what had befallen the boy that had been refused a chance at something of a normal childhood. Jack had installed several spies within not only Konohagakure but also all the other Hidden Villages of the East to keep tabs on everything that was publicly and privately going on in the shinobi world beyond the Ygotsui Mountains.

Along with the information he had been receiving on a monthly basis concerning the Kyuubi container, which he found was named 'Naruto' by his parents after a character from Jiraiya's only none-erotic work, Jack also knew of the other two children that had been used to seal away demons.

There was the Ichibi no Shukaku, which had been sealed away into the son of the Yondaime Kazekage. He knew that the manner in which the sealing was done was done both incorrectly and on purpose, to turn the poor child into a demented psychopath that felt nothing but twisted love for himself that it expressed through senseless killing.

Then there was the Nibi no Nekomata, having been sealed into the body of a female infant. Unfortunately, the girl had not been infused with the demon early enough for it to not affect her chakra coils. The ritual had failed, thus causing the girl who'd been meant to contain Nekomata instant death. Meanwhile, the sovereign feline demon had escaped its captors and hadn't been seen in nearly eight years.

Jack squeezed the bridge of his nose, trying to relieve the pressure he knew was building up from the impending headache. He looked at the completed paperwork before him, thanking the powers that be that Ankoku had found the thought of having a council as well as a Kage unnecessary.

Just as he was about to tilt his chair back for a much needed nap, there was a knock at his chamber door.

"Come in, it's unlocked Daisuke."

Through the door came a boy who had been presented to him shortly after Jack had returned from the moot fight at Konoha. He had raised the boy as his own, but everyone knew the truth.

Daisuke stood just a bit under the nose of Jack when they stood close enough to tell. He had the basic Darkness-nin attire, everything black. Unlike most shinobi who wore the classic attire of tight or slightly loose clothing, Daisuke went and separated himself there from the rest.

His trench coat was at one point a normal one but he had carefully removed the sleeves from it, saying that he needed the ability to move his arms freely. He wore black, steel-toed boots that came up to just above his ankles, but were for the most part hidden underneath the excess amount of pants material. His pants were baggy to say the least. Being of the larger sized men in the village, Daisuke had to buy the pants with larger waists but could never get the inseam tailored correctly which caused him to tape up the ends of the pants from his ankles to knees. This resulted in a canopy effect with the rest of the pant leg material flowing over the tapings and resting on his boots.

Daisuke's shirt was long sleeved despite his trench coat having no sleeves. Down the sleeves of his shirt went trails of embossed red tribal flames. On his chest there was the symbol for his clan emblazoned in blue: a dragon that formed a circle with its tail caught in its mouth with the interior space divided by two intersecting curved lines. Fingerless gloves covered his hands, each one having a metal plate riveted to the glove. His left hand had the word 'Discord' engraved on it, while the plate on the right hand bore the engraving 'Discontent' on it proudly.

Daisuke came to a stop just a foot away from the desk that stood between him and his adopted father. Jack looked on as Daisuke took note of the room, turning his head this way and that. His braided hair, coming down to just below his shoulder blades, flipped slightly as Daisuke looked around, eyes covered by a pair of wrap around mirrored sunglasses.

"You requested to see me, Yamikage-sama?"

Jack smirked. "You've always been to the point Daisuke. One of the reasons why I selected you for this mission."

Perking an ear to the word 'mission'. "What mission? I can't go on a mission; I've only gotten halfway through the Academy."

"As of one week from tomorrow, you will be transferred over to another village for the next two years. You were selected not only because you are of the same age as the shinobi-to-be we shall receive in your place, but because things are getting… interesting in this village, to say the least," Jack said, keeping an even tone as he pulled out a folder of papers.

"And which village is this? Is it Ice? I've always wanted to go there after hearing all the stories from Amanda."

Tossing the papers to the boy, he answered. "No, this is going to be something completely different my boy. You are going to Konohagakure."

Daisuke blanched.

"Yes, I know. Heading over to the East has been taboo for ten years now. But this was not brought up by any of our own villages, this was an idea brought forth by the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. I think he is starting to realize the truth in my last words to him after the incident with the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and is now wanting to establish relations with us again."

Though this allowed the blood to reassert itself into his facial blood vessels, Daisuke was still hesitant in believing what he had just been told. He was not only going to be transferring over to another village's Academy to finish up his remaining time, but it was an _Eastern_ village. Not just any village either: **the** Eastern village that had caused everyone west of the Ygotsui Mountains to shun any and all Easterners upon sight.

"Does Kommando know about this? I don't think he'll be approving of me being-"

"Don't worry, cousin. I'm well aware of the situation with the East."

Daisuke turned to see his cousin enter the room through the open door, his white attire a stark contrast to the constant sea of black in Ankoku. "Good to know at least one of us knows what the hell is going on around here."

"Heh, good to know you've gotten my sister's sense of humor."

"At least I got that and only half the family traits."

"True, true."

Jack smirked again. "Alright you two, let's get this over with. The sooner Daisuke gets all this information, the sooner we get him ready and out the door to Konoha."

Daisuke picked up the papers and held them in his right hand, his left glowing slightly with chakra as he ran it over the papers. After scanning the few papers, he poised his left hand into a seal and touched his forehead with his index and pinky fingers.

"I see. So I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on Naruto Uzumaki over the next two years, under joint orders from you and Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure. During this time, I also am to adjust to the life there and present myself as a proper ambassador, avoid all confrontation unless it's a supervised function of the Leaf Academy. I'll be moving into an apartment adjacent to Naruto's, and become something of an understanding friend, which according to these reports, shouldn't be too troublesome all around. I'm also to keep an eye out for known and unknown global issues, and discretely relay my information to the scattered contacts throughout the village." Daisuke put the papers back on the desk before Jack.

Jack stood up and rounded the desk, looking between Kommando and Daisuke. "Furthermore, under no circumstances, lest it be in defense of you, Naruto, or those that either of you hold as friend, in a situation that could result in mortal danger, are you to activate your Shinkirou no Kinkou kekkei genkai. If word were to spread that someone of the Hyota clan still exists anywhere, all hell truly will break loose."

"Of course. The last thing I need is that fanny bandit chasing after me."

Kommando nearly lost his façade at that one. Anyone who had known of the one labeled as 'fanny bandit' when it came to the world of the shinobi knew it could only be one person.

"Yes, the last thing we need Orochimaru to gain is your kekkei genkai. We certainly don't need him getting any of your other 'inheritances' either," commented Jack. He knew all too well what would happen if the legendary Snake Sannin obtained any one of the powers Daisuke held secret.

"Just means I'll be brushing up on my taijutsu then. Though it sucks I have to go without using my Shinkirou no Kinkou for the entire time though." Daisuke pouted at not being able to show off his bloodline limit, especially if it came to taijutsu training in Konoha.

"Regardless, you need to try and keep it low profile with your abilities," added Kommando, scratching his ear just under the arm of his sunglasses.

"Yeah, about as low profile as I'm gonna be able to and be comfortably dressed anyway."

Jack snapped his fingers, and went back around to rummage through his drawer. "That reminds me, Daisuke. We also have something for you to take with you when you go."

When Daisuke saw Jack pull out a box from the desk, he could only guess at what was inside. Jack lifted the lid to show Daisuke the contents, while Kommando was already well aware of the objects.

Inside were a dozen objects that looked like a regular kunai but with what seemed to be upturned and sharpened guards on either side of the blade, barely discernable seal arrays grafted onto the handles.

"These are to be delivered to Sandaime Hokage upon your arrival, with a letter that will be ready for you when you leave. These were-"

"The very kunai that the Yondaime Hokage had created to make his Flying Thunder God jutsu possible…" Daisuke finished, grazing his fingers lightly over the objects.

"Yes, these are the key points to the very jutsu that had made the Yondaime so feared in battle. Sandaime doesn't know we have kept them secretly, but they are only to be handed over in private. If the council of Konohagakure finds that these were not lost as was explained years ago, then they will be furious with Sarutobi and remove him, severing any hopes that still live somewhat to make an alliance between Ankoku and Konoha."

Taking the objects tenderly and putting them into the interior pocket of his trench vest, Daisuke nodded solemnly. He understood that the repercussions would be great if that idiot council thought anything of the story were false upon his arrival. "No worries, I'll make sure that Sarutobi gets these quietly."

Kommando nodded in agreement.

"Alright, any other questions then? Last chance before you go get packed for your journey tomorrow." Jack put the box away and sat back down, tilting back and glancing to his right to see the glorious clouds making their final colors of the night as the sun set beyond the village walls.

"Who all is going with me?"

"I will, and as far as I know, Amanda was supposed to be getting some part in this as well," spoke Kommando, walking up behind Daisuke and putting a calm hand on his cousin's shoulder.

"Hn." While Amanda was known for her 'unorthodox' choice in companions, it was widely known in Ankoku that she had been a major pillar in the life of Daisuke. It was a surprise to everyone when she had first been seen playing with the young boy when she first arrived in the Village Hidden in the Darkness. Never before had it been known for Amanda Sickle to openly tolerate let alone interact with men willingly outside of training and combat.

"Yes, your escorts and companions during this two year mission are going to be Kommando, Amanda, and another nin from the Academy. Her name is Raven, and she will be joining you in the mission. Sarutobi doesn't know it yet, but he will actually be sending us two students," Jack said. "The parents of the second child were already informed due to our spies amongst the village, and they were not hesitant whatsoever to assist us."

"Which clans are we going to be interacting with then?" Daisuke asked, knowing some possibilities but none for certain. It was a small list but nonetheless a rather impressive lineup of candidates.

"First is the Nara clan. They were originally from Ankoku despite what the council of Konoha believes. It's quite obvious by the shadow possession jutsus they are known for."

Nodding, Daisuke remembered the lessons he'd received on clans from around the world that were renowned for their innate talents. Nara being an obvious clan from Ankoku, as their signature jutsu style relied heavily on the manipulation of shadows to attack. The darker the location, the stronger the jutsu became, though the jutsu had a chance to backfire if done without enough control. This would cause the shadow-user to get lost within the shadows they rely so heavily on and end up going mad from the absence of their conscious mind or entirely disappear into their own shadows forever.

"Who else? I hope it isn't the Uchiha clan; I'd rather have a Hyuuga come here instead. At least they're respectful."

Jack snickered, knowing this would throw Daisuke for a loop. "The other clan assisting us is the Akimichi clan. They are known for their veracious appetites and body mass to which fuels their strength and body-enhancement style jutsus."

"So it seems that the Akimichis are something of a distant cousin to my father eh?" Daisuke asked, practicably raising an eyebrow at that thought.

"Yes, it would seem so just by the similarities. Let's just hope their son Choji doesn't eat near as much as you do."

"You can only hope Jack," added Kommando, knowing full well the appetite of his younger cousin.

Jack turned away from them as he looked at the clock behind him. "Alright, I think it's time we call it for the night. You all leave as soon as you're gathered at the eastern gate. When it comes to recognizing Raven, you'll be able to tell as she carries a very peculiar weapon."

Daisuke was about to say something when Jack stood up, waved them off and disappeared into a dark cloud.

"This is gonna be some kind of fun, isn't it dear cousin?"

Feeling Kommando's hand on his shoulder again, "Yes it is Daisuke. Let's just hope it goes well and make sure Amanda doesn't go overboard, alright?"

Laughing, he turned and followed his cousin out the door of the Yamikage's office. They headed off to their compound, to get ready for the next two years of their lives.


	2. Beginning the Tapestry

Disclaimer:

See the Preface for this, as well as my disclaimer to Ankoku/Jack/any other material belonging to Chaos666. I do however own the rights to Daisuke Hyota, as he is my own OC. So :P

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Note: This will mostly be a flashback episode, but it's for a reason. In fact, up until I put together the teams and senseis probably either the next installment or the one after that, there is going to be a lot of flashback content consisting of material. This is to create the foundation for my story beyond what I put in between the present.

And just a quick last thing; thanks to all the people who put this story at over 80 hits before it had even been out for five hours. I expect to see much more than that by the time I get the next chapter ready for publishing.

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"Hey Daisuke!"

Daisuke turned around to see a blonde blur run into the ramen stand, flaps swishing in the wind. His face lightened at seeing him enter the restaurant, it being one of the only places in Konoha that actually served either of them regardless of their status.

"Hey Naruto, was wondering when you'd get here. I was starting to think you had overslept," Daisuke said, flipping his long braid back and forth as he looked down at his ramen, shaking his head.

"Yeah right, like I'd miss out on ramen before the last day of school with you and Raven!"

Raven shook her head as she giggled slightly, her platinum hair swaying slightly.

Daisuke smirked at that thought. _You've always been one of the few she's really trusted._ He remembered how they had all first met two years ago, when Daisuke and the other three from the Village Hidden in the Darkness arrived upon the doorstep of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

_A couple of days had passed since Kommando and Amanda began the trip with Daisuke and the girl known as Raven from their village of Ankoku. They had met with the envoy from Konoha three days prior in a small mountain village just at the base of the Ygotsui Mountains and had traded information. Now they stood mere minutes from the only visible entrance to the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

_They could already tell they would meet anything but a warm greeting from the pair of chunin at the main gate to the village despite the official seal of the Sandaime Hokage on their forms._

"_These are obviously fake documents," one said, dangling the documents in front of them between his thumb and forefinger._

"_There is no way that the Hokage would think to allow some Westerners entrance into our village, much less than for two years," said the other, crossing his arms in front of his chest. _

_Kommando came up to the two chunin and looked at them through his reflective lenses. "Then what was the destination point for the party that left from Konohagakure one week ago, which consisted of one Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, Sarutobi Asuma, and Gekko Hayate? Because we met them at the halfway point in a village just this side of the Ygotsui Mountains, and they showed us their documents to prove themselves."_

_The two chunin snickered a little, despite the twitch held in the first's eye._

"_We don't need to answer the questions of a mere Westerner, especially when it concerns shinobi business of our village. Now get lost you little punk!" yelled the second one, pulling a kunai out of a hip holster._

_To say that Daisuke wasn't surprised by this turn of events would be an understatement. He had rather been hoping for this to happen, as it would allow the Darkness-nin to prove themselves. He reached into the outer pockets of his trench vest and pulled out a pair of tonfa, placing them into the grappling position._

_Amanda noticed this immediately, knowing that things would go very badly if Daisuke was allowed to show his affinity for close combat. "Daisuke, remember our orders. We are not to resort to force of any kind if at all possible until it proves to be the only way. Now put away your tonfa before I turn you into a nin-cicle." _

_Daisuke grimaced at this order, knowing full well that the woman behind him wouldn't hesitate in turning him into a life-sized ice cube. She had done that many times before, and not just to him. _

"_Alright, fine."_

_The chunin before smirked at each other, thinking that they had found a spineless runt._

"_Awww how pathetic, listening to your mommy. I bet you would do anything to please her, eh brat?" the chunin reached out to roughly torque Daisuke's head around in the guise of ruffling his hair, but he found a second after reaching out that his hand was encased in ice._

"_No one __**ever**__ considers me a mother. Just because I saved you a trip to the hospital from him doesn't mean I'll be so fortunate in stopping his cousin from deflating you in an instant," Amanda said, her eyes still glowing from the jutsu she used._

_Before any more conflict could arise, two figures in black cloaks and animal masks appeared in the midst._

"_Kommando-san, Sickle-san, we apologize for the inconvenience these chunin have caused you and your students. Please follow us to the Hokage Tower to meet with the Sandaime."_

_Daisuke eased up from his posture when they arrived. ANBU were nothing to mess with, even when you had a chance. It was a better idea for him to spar with Kommando than to attempt to take out ANBU from another village. He put away his tonfa and looked to Raven, who just stood there with her hand still hovering over the looped kusari-gama at her hip.  
_

'_Strange how she's never actually used it…' Daisuke thought as the ANBU in a wolf mask turned to the leaf chunin behind him._

"_Izumo, Kotetsu; you both know better than to cause trouble with honored guests of the village. What do you have to say for yourselves?"_

_Both chunin blanched at this, knowing full well that there would be severe reprimands for knowingly delayed shinobi on a mission. The other ANBU who wore a fox mask shook her head._

"_No matter. Morino-san will hear of this." Turning back to the group from Ankoku, "Well, let's get you four to see Sarutobi-sensei. The sooner we get the formalities out of the way the sooner you can all get settled in."_

_The group left in a mix of leaves and dark mist, leaving the guards speechless and dreading their return to headquarters, knowing full well what was awaiting them._

_Kommando and the others found themselves in front of a large wooden door with the word HOKAGE engraved on the frame above the door. Just as the ANBU with the wolf mask was about to knock and inform Sarutobi of the Darkness envoy's arrival, a loud thud could be heard. _

_Quickly, the group entered the office despite any possible threat to themselves inside. The first person to do anything was Amanda._

_To say that what she saw made her blush would be an understatement. For in the middle of the room in front of the large desk stood a teenage girl with blonde pigtails, nothing but wisps of smoke covering her naughty bits to a minimum. Before she took two steps towards the 'girl', there was a large poof and the teenager was replaced by a small boy not much shorter than Daisuke but a bit skinnier. _

_His blonde hair was unruly and spiked, kept out of his face by a pair of goggles on a headband. He had fallen on the floor from the jutsu, allowing for the others in the room to see the whisker marks adorning his cheeks. _

'_This is Uzumaki Naruto? God, I hope I can get him out of that ugly ass jump suit. No wonder he gets pounded all the time by the villagers; orange is the ugliest of colors aside form electric pink.' Daisuke thought, seeing the boy roll on the floor in a day-glow orange jumpsuit that had blue shoulders and a thick white collar._

_Kommando could only sense the drastic drop in temperature, and tugged Daisuke and Raven back closer to the doorway from Amanda. Raven understood clearly what was about to happen._

_An elderly man groaned as he got up from the floor behind the desk, startled by the sudden change in the room. Peeking over the desk top while secretly cleaning the nosebleed, he noticed what the cause was. Before him stood the two ANBU he had sent, and the envoy from Ankoku. Three wore all black and carried various weapons on them while the fourth was a complete opposite, wearing pure white and no visible weapons._

'_Why does the one in white seem so familiar…'_

_Before anyone could say anything, Amanda flashed through a set of fast hand signs and yelled out, "Ice style: Ice Imprisonment Jutsu!"_

_The ANBU and the old man looked on as suddenly there was a flash. They looked down at the form of the young boy between them, frozen in a lump of ice. They looked back up at Amanda, seeing smoke come out her ears and she went and leaned against the wall behind Kommando._

_Sighing, Sarutobi stood up. "I see you found them already. Thank you Kakashi, Anko."_

_The ANBU bowed slightly as they vanished in swirls of leaves. Turning their attention back to the old man, they could tell who he was by the regal robes of red and white he wore. His pipe puffed up smoke as he took in the sight before him._

"_It has been quite a while, Sandaime Hokage-sama," said Kommando as he placed the scroll he had on the desk before the old man._

"_Have we met before?" Sarutobi asked as he accepted the scroll._

_Kommando smirked. "Yes, but you wouldn't have guessed it."_

"_Where was it that we met? I would have remembered someone as distinct as you I'm sure."_

_Pulling his sunglasses off, he focused a small amount of charka into his face. This caused the tattoo of the word 'agony' to reveal itself to the Hokage. "Remember me now, Sandaime?"_

_It did not take the old man long to remember where he had seen the man before. "You are that young boy that had been with Jack Socrie ten years ago…"_

"_Yes, I was present at the battle between Konohagakure and the Kyuubi no kitsune. I prevented the Yondaime Yamikage from forcing an issue that would have left this village in much worse shape than it has already come to be in."_

_Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Sarutobi nodded. "Indeed. I must thank you for that then."_

"_No thanks are necessary, seeing as to why we were brought here is thanks enough." Kommando responded as he walked back and nudged Raven and Daisuke forward to meet the leader of Konoha. "These are the two students that we have selected and escorted here from Ankoku as our part of the joint-mission, Hokage-sama. Introduce yourselves and please make sure to inform him of exactly what your kekkei genkais are so that he is completely informed."_

_Daisuke took a quick nervous glance back at his older cousin while Sarutobi had a quizzical look on his face. Raven stepped forward and taking the initiative as she unlatched her weapon from her hip while presenting it forward for the elderly leader to glance at it._

"_I am Raven Straussburg, heiress of the Straussburg clan of the Village Hidden in the Darkness. I am proficient with the kusari-gama, and the main kekkei genkai of my clan is to take our own blood and infuse our charka into it, making it into a variety of poisons which we can use for many things. My field of expertise is to coat my weapon," turning the blade of her weapon up to the ceiling, which bore the engraving of 'remorse' a hand-span from the handle along the side of the blade, "with a very potent poison that will gradually break down the opponent's body while slowing their chakra flow to a bare minimum. It is a torturous method that causes excruciating pain and slowed movement from two minutes after an infected wound is made until the time of passing or the opponent is cured. This kekkei genkai is named the Betrayal of the Poisoned Essence, Honshitsu Doku no Uragiri."_

_Raven stepped back, noting the interest that the Hokage displayed in such an ability. Her attire was rather different than that of the others. In addition to her weapon choice, Raven wore pure black like the two on either side of her. Her outfit consisted of pants and boots similar to those of Amanda, but instead of a normal shirt and jacket she wore a dress that left her shoulders bare and formed a flap of sorts from her waist down to just below her knees. She wore gloves that went from mid bicep down to the knuckles and covered them. Her gloves didn't however run between the four fingers but were just connected through the loop that ran between thumb and forefinger._

_Her face was angular with high cheek bones underneath her amethyst eyes. Her platinum hair stood out from the others, with how it hung straight down from the roots. She never did more than wash or brush it, just letting it hang down her as the tips brushed past her chest and would seen to be level with her waist. Her bangs had at least been positioned to not be so much of an obstacle to her seeing but rather as to prevent others from seeing into her eyes._

"_Good to know what you are capable Raven. Never before have I heard of such power, but then again something such as that would seem more common to people of your side of the Ygotsui," Sarutobi commented. Raven nodded in acceptance and nudged Daisuke forward a bit._

"_Alright, don't need to get pushy."_

_Looking from Raven back to the Sandaime Hokage, Daisuke bowed formally. "Hello Hokage-sama. My name is Daisuke Hyota. I was found in a burnt village ruin shortly after the majority of the Insane Devils embarked ten years ago. Since then, I've been living under the tutelage of Yondaime Yamikage Jack Socrie. I am actually related to Kommando, despite our apparent differences. My kekkei genkai is from my father's side, where I get my physical attributes also. It's a somewhat lost bloodline limit."_

"_I've heard something of the Hyota clan. Is it true what is said, that you are able to change your own body's density at will?" Sarutobi asked, scratching his chin._

"_Yes, the Shinkirou no Kinkou is known as the Mirage of Balance. It's similar to the jutsu stylings of the Akimichi clan here, where they use their body fat reserves to increase their strength and physical mass. However, my powers not only manipulate my density but also affect the overall structure of my body. If I increase my density, my body becomes more compact, heavier and able to withstand drastic pressure and weight. If I become lighter than a feather, I grow to many times my size but become more vulnerable to damaging jutsus."_

_Raising an eyebrow Sarutobi took this in. "So the rumors were true after all. The long-lost ancestors to the Akimichi were truly from the West after all."_

"_Yes, but unfortunately I am the last of the Hyota clan unless I were to invoke the Clan Restoration Article. But as of right now I have no such reason to pursue that. I'm not a genin, let alone old enough for such matters."_

"_Ha! I like this kid; he knows what is important but he doesn't let it get the better of him," came the response of an unknown audience. _

_Kommando turned to the window and furrowed his eyebrows. "I was wondering when you would show yourself and stop eavesdropping, Toad Sage..."  
_

_Jiraiya stared blankly at the white-clad teenager before him, then focused on the lump of ice in front of Sarutobi's desk. Pointing to said lump, he asked, "What's with Naruto? Did he jump into a freezer after taking a really hot bath or what?"_

"_No, he was caught in the middle of showing me his latest… jutsu, when the Ankoku envoy had arrived," the elderly man responded, looking the other way as he took a puff of his pipe._

_Jiraiya sighed and walked up the group, looking them each over. _

"_I see you have yet to change your outlook on those of us from the West Jiraiya-sama," commented Amanda. He looked at her; after a moment something broke in his brain and he shrank back. "Ha! I see you didn't forget your lesson back in Aisugakure at least."_

_Furiously nodding, the middle-aged made his way around the group to the Hokage, placed a scroll on the desk and said, "Here is the latest information I've gathered from my network. Nothing has really changed thus far." And with that, the aging man vanished in a poof._

"_So what now Hokage-sama?"_

_Sarutobi placed the scroll into a drawer of his desk to he could look at it later as he responded to Kommando's question. "Simple. You shall be shown to your residence for the duration of your mission. Tonight you can rest up from your journey." Turning to Raven and Daisuke, "As for you two, we have all the paperwork done for your enrollment at the academy. Classes have already started, so you start tomorrow."_

"_Heh, looks like the two of you won't get any downtime," Amanda scoffed, already anticipating the chance to sleep past daybreak. Kommando refrained from smirking as he knew there was a catch that was bound to come up._

"_I'm sorry Sickle-san, but you and your colleague Kommando-san aren't going to be lax in your contributions to the village either," the Hokage added, tossing them a set of keys. "In fact, both of you are going to be placed as teachers at the Academy to monitor things. I had to juggle things around since I sent two jonin to your village with Shikamaru and Choji, so two of the chunin teachers had the chance to get promoted to jonin."_

_Kommando laughed out loud at this, knowing that Amanda was getting quite flustered with this information._

"_Now before we go, please release the jutsu you've placed on our dear 'lord prankster', as he's been named due to his search for attention," the old man said, pointing his pipe at Naruto._

_Raven raised the corner of her mouth as Daisuke let out a guffaw as Amanda released the Ice Imprisonment jutsu. Kommando walked over to Naruto and picked him up. "We're his new next door neighbors aren't we?"_

"_Yes, thankfully. At least you won't be trying to live there in hopes of catching him and tormenting him nearly to death," Sarutobi answered as he led them out of the office._

As Naruto sat down next to Daisuke, he noticed a girl in a beige jacket out of the corner of his eye. _Wonder what Hinata is doing here?_

"So are you ready to get the hitai-ite Naruto? Once we pass, we get to find out who we're going to learning alongside and under whom," Raven said as she snapped her chopsticks and started in on her garlic ramen. This effectively broke Naruto out of his train of thought from Hinata to the tests later that day.

"I can't wait! I just hope that the clone jutsu isn't going to be one of the main points to this," he said, then proceeding to scarf down his double pork ramen.

_Don't worry Naruto-kun; I'm sure you'll do fine._ Hinata gazed out the corner of her eye at the pinnacle of her affections as he enjoyed his last meal as a student. Her cheeks blushed as she finished her miso ramen and left some coins on the table to pay for her meal.

Naruto failed to notice Hinata leave as Daisuke spoke to him. "I'm sure everything's going to be fine. They should at least take pity on you since you've yet to make a real clone."

Naruto glared at him, noodles hanging out of his mouth.

"At least he's able to make the transformation jutsu work, unlike you Daisuke," Raven added as she finished her ramen off.

"My family's always had problems with that one; I don't know why but Kommando said that we have proof that the family has always been able to pull off jutsus that opposed our natural elements better than the damn transformation jutsu."

"Hahaha! I can't believe you have problems with that one still," Naruto said as he adjusted his goggles.

"That's because unlike you, I never made a perverted twist on it for pranking with," Daisuke countered while pointing his chopsticks at Naruto.

"You know why I used to do that stuff. Just be glad I never adapted a version of it on Amanda."

Raven laughed at that. "More like you should be glad you didn't try to. After what happened when we first saw you use that damn jutsu on Sarutobi-san, we're amazed Amanda didn't straight out kill you through hypothermia."

Naruto grumbled as his fished out the money from his frog wallet to pay for his ramen. "Well I'm done, so we need to be going or we'll be late. You know how Iruka-sensei gets when it comes to sleeping in class and tardiness."

Daisuke left some coins for his ramen and followed Naruto, both waiting momentarily for Raven to adjust her skirt before they made their way towards the Academy.

"Might as well pull out the stops, no sense in showing up just before the bell without some flare, right?" Naruto said as he performed a hand sign. Nodding, Daisuke and Raven performed the same hand sign. One second, the three of them were in the middle of a mildly crowded street, the next they disappeared in a puff of dark mist and leaves.

They appeared at the front of the classroom just as Iruka was going to start the roll call.

"Whew, just in time I see," Iruka said, scratching the scar that ran across his face on the bridge of his nose. "Take your seats you three, we need to get through the graduation exams so we can get to work on building of the teams."

Nodding, the three students took their seats. Daisuke and Raven each sat in the back of the room near Hinata. Raven had befriended the quiet girl early on in their first few days in Konoha, and they found they had quite a bit in common. Most people thought it was weird, since no one else had ever take time to get to know more about the shy Hyuuga other than she stuttered some and poked her fingers together when she was in the spotlight, or that she blushed heavily when talking about 'Naruto-kun'.

Daisuke sat behind Shino Aburame, the quietest guy in class. He had learned of the kikai bugs his clan utilized in their tactics, and rather admired the stoic appearance the clan upheld despite the adversity to them. They actually weren't as unapproachable as the village thought; you just had to know how to get around their quiet demeanor and grab their attention.

"Now everyone, let's head out to the training ground just outside the school yard to perform our exam on weapons…"


	3. Testing the Threads

Disclaimer:

See the Preface for the jist of it. I do however own the rights to Daisuke Hyota and Raven Straussburg.

* * *

Notes: Thanks goes out to Chaos666 again for his permission in using his materials, and also to those have added this to their 'story alerts' list. Shawny Wong, you'll soon see the answer to your question, either this or the next chapter. I'd also like to thank those of you that have taken the time out of your days to view my story thus far. As it stands, I had received 81 hits on the Preface within five hours of publishing it, when I also decided to post the first actual chapter. Within less than twenty four hours, I've amassed a total of 327 hits on just the first two chapters as of the time that I'm putting this down.

Also, here are some ways to visualize the appearance my embodiments of Chaos' characters take on.

When it comes to Amanda, think of something along the lines of Haruko Haruhara but with long blue hair and ice blue eyes, and the normal black boots, sleeveless shirt and leather pants of the Ankoku shinobi, while her katana hangs from her left side.

With Kommando, think of the youngest of the 13 Court Squad Captains from Bleach, just in standard Ankoku outfit but white, with the tattoo on his face and light blue hair, something similar to Amanda's but lighter.

Daisuke you could kind of fathom as sort of a taller and slightly, just slightly, chubby Edward Elric but as brunette rather than blonde.

Raven's clothing is a cross between Sakura's classic outfit and the upper part to Soi Fong's battle attire in Bleach (think of the Yoruichi/Soi Fong fight, you'll see what I'm talking about).

Well here goes: today's lovely addition to 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 2!

[]x[]x[]x[]x[]

"Good work everyone, that was excellent. With the target practice and written exams out of the way, we can now make way to the taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu sections. After that, Mizuki-sensei and I will award the passing students their hitai-ites," explained Iruka as he ushered the students through the practice dojo doors.

The students filed through the door in quiet speculation of the previous two exam sections. The obvious consensus was that Sasuke Uchiha, the pampered emo king, would be sure to win the title of 'Rookie of the Year'. That was before the actual exam began.

_During the target practice exam, Sasuke smugly threw his kunai and shuriken into the exact spot of where the heart would have been had the target been human. This provoked a clamor of clapping from the 'peanut gallery' as he had openly admitted to the class a few months prior. He walked back to the group and went to the back to stand alone, and patiently waited for them to return to the classroom to do the written exam when he heard some audible gasps._

_He opened his eyes as he moved around the crowd to see the target. In the target was four kunai and four shuriken, each one planted into a different spot._

"_Hn, loser couldn't even get more than one accurate hit in," Sasuke retorted, seeing that Daisuke was walking up to the target._

_Pulling out a sheet of paper from his clipboard, Iruka glanced between it and the target dummy Daisuke was standing next to. "Impressive Daisuke. Not only did you accurately aim the thrown weapons at the target, but you also hit each of the eight vital points in which can cause instant death upon puncture."_

_Sasuke saw this as an affront to his perfect four-point attack on the target he had just made. _How could I let someone like an outsider outdo me?

_Next up came Raven, wielding senbon needles between each of her fingers. When Iruka gave her the go ahead to start, she focused her chakra into each needle momentarily before she squeezed her fingers and poked one end of each needle into her palm. She held the needles vertically so as to let the blood flow over them and blend with the chakra she infused to her thrown weapon. Shortly after this was done she proceeded to strike each of the same holes as Daisuke had._

_Everyone just stood there; some were impressed that she had used the exact same holes as Daisuke to perform the exam, others unimpressed that she merely copied the tactics of the person before her. _

_Until they saw the target dummy starting to dissolve that is _

"_Might wanna bring in a spare target dummy, eh Iruka-sensei?" called Naruto as he stepped forward and maneuvered a fresh dummy into view as he kicked the other one off to the side of the clearing._

"_Good job Raven, you pass the target practice segment. Alright Naruto, you might as well go since you're already up here," Mizuki said, chuckling at the sight of the first dummy finally melting away._

_Giving off a 'foxy' grin, Naruto took out a few kunai and shuriken. "Sure thing, Mizuki-sensei!"_

_Staring hard at the dummy before him, Naruto focused for a moment before he flung all the weapons at once. One kunai landed in the heart, two in the lungs, a shuriken in the middle of the throat and the last kunai in forehead, while the remaining shuriken seemingly flew past the target altogether._

_Everyone looked on, some showing their confusion while others failed to hide their smirks._

"_Seems that the dead-last can't completely hit the target," Sasuke scoffed, failing to notice something important._

_Sakura was the first of the students to notice this detail. _Are those… wires?**Cha! What is that idiot thinking? What good will wires do when trying to hit various exact points in the body?**

"_Looks like you just barely pass Naruto. You have to remember to aim carefully each throw before you make the movements, otherwise you'll not only waste precious equipment but make very dire mistakes by leaving openings for your opponents to utilize against you." Iruka was about to put down Naruto's score on the sheet when he noticed the whiskers twitch on Naruto's face._

_Before anything could be said further, everyone saw Naruto bring his right hand up and tug at the strings he had attached to the last knuckle on his fore, middle and ring fingers. "Never said anything about precisely aiming all of my throws, now did I Iruka-sensei?"_

_And with that tug, everyone saw as the shuriken returned in a boomerang effect and proceeded to wrap themselves around the neck of the target dummy so tightly that when the shuriken tips finally embedded themselves to a halt, the head portion of the dummy fell to the ground._

"_I call that the 'shuriken strangler'. Pretty spiffy wouldn't ya say?" he said as he went and retrieved his weapons. Awe was the common look everyone had on their face, minus two Darkness-nin and one 'prodigy', the former smirking as the latter was fuming._

_Deciding to get things back under control, Mizuki coughed. "Alright, let's get the rest of the students tested so that we can move on to the written exam."_

Sasuke was still quite irritated at being shown up by three of the 'lowest' students in his class. 'How could they have possibly been able to do something as advanced as that?'

The class was settling down into rows as Mizuki and Iruka stood before them, explaining the rules to the next part of the exam.

"This is a simple taijutsu exam. You can use what you have on your person that you take in with you as you step onto the mat, but use of genjutsu and ninjutsu is strictly disallowed. The person who yields first submits defeat. Try to avoid harming your opponent. If we find a drop of blood on the mat at any point, the person who shed the blood will also automatically submit defeat," said Iruka, tossing the clipboard off to the side of the mat.

Taking his position on the other side of the mat, Mizuki concluded. "Pretty much, no intentional harm is to be done. First person to yield, have their blood shed, or fall unconscious is the loser. And remember, this isn't just about winning over your opponent: this is a test to show how you have improved or not in the skills of close-quarters combat."

"We will now call out names in pairs; these will be the sparring partners for this exam. Here goes: Ino will go against Dellona. Sakura will go against Rita, Raven will go against Hinata, Shikamaru against Daisuke, Naruto against Choji, Sasuke against Kiba, Shino against…" And the list went on, naming off the other random students that had somehow continued through the four years of the Academy.

Daisuke could hear the rustling of a bag of chips come closer as everyone filed up into two lines to await their turn on the mat. "Hey there Choji, good to see that you and Shikamaru could come and graduate from here with us, rather than Ankoku."

In between fistfuls of potato chips, Choji responded. "Yep, Socrie-sama said it would be more beneficial for us to take our own village's exam. I'm just glad to be back home; I missed my favorite barbecue foods."

"Yeah, but you got to admit, the food styles we have over in the West are hard to avoid," Raven said as she stood behind them next to her exam partner. Hinata looked at them with a puzzled look on her face, and was about to start asking what they were discussing when the doors to the dojo slammed open.

Everyone in the room, even the chunin instructors, turned to see who had interrupted the taijutsu exams. There in the doorway stood two people wearing hitai-ites with foreign symbols, one dressed entirely in black with a katana at her side; the other dressed in all white wearing sunglasses.

"Troublesome…" stated Shikamaru, noticing who had just entered.

Daisuke smirked as he watched Amanda and Kommando enter the room. _Bet they're here to watch the last parts of the exam_.

Raven face-faulted upon seeing her jonin associates enter the room. 'Oh fuck, this is not going to be a good sign…'

Though Kommando could not see it, he already knew that he and Amanda were the ones in the spotlight at the moment. Pausing, he glanced around before he stepped into the room.

"Kommando-san, Amanda-san, what brings you here? We were just about to start the taijutsu section of our graduation exam," came Iruka's response to their entry. Unknown to most of the room however, Mizuki cursed under his breath.

"We were sent here to discuss something with you and Mizuki-san briefly before you are to proceed," Amanda said, placing her left hand on the hilt of her blade.

Mizuki visibly paled in the face.

"Of course." Iruka turned to the class, "Alright students, Mizuki-sensei and I are going to step into the hall for a moment. Please remember who your sparring partner is, and we will continue this after a few moments."

At hearing this declaration the students started to relax and talk amongst themselves, except for a few. Daisuke and Raven had known about the setup that was taking place amongst them for a few months now, and had kept an eye out for both their fellow Darkness-nin and Sarutobi himself.

Rumors had been spreading amongst those that patrolled throughout the territory under the control of Konohagakure that enemy nin had been seen transpiring with a member of the shinobi ranks of the village. When it came to the ears of the Hokage, he took it as an affront for possible war. One thing led to another, and eventually the old man had gotten in contact with Jack Socrie about requesting the help of the Darkness nin residing in the village to discover the troubles.

To say that Jack was not surprised was an understatement. It was actually Sarutobi who had been drastically amazed when the Yamikage informed him that he had known about the traitor in the ranks.

Messages had come and gone after that secret meeting between the kages, and thus it soon resulted in the Ankoku spy network monitoring any and all shinobi that came in and out the village gates. It was only a week after the orders were issued that a contact within a local shop had proven fortunate when trailing a chunin with silver hair leave the village in the middle of the night.

The spy followed the leaf nin through the forest far to the north, staying far enough back to hide their presence but close enough to use their talents to monitor the meeting with enemy shinobi from Iwagakure. Since that night, all the shinobi under the order of Jack had kept their eyes open whenever they encountered said chunin but never said anything, lest they reveal their plans.

Daisuke smirked as he noticed Mizuki flinch as Amanda motioned for him to follow the three of them out to the hallway. _Poor bastard never thought he would get caught_.

Raven shook her head as her hand loosely gripped the handle of her kusari-gama. She started to make the blade of it spin around with planting the butt of it firmly on the ground and rotating her arm like a piston as she saw Mizuki sweat.

_Shit… How did they find out? I made sure no one could follow me!_ thought the chunin with silver hair. He quickly glanced between the three near the door to the hallway and the window on the other side of the room, and made his choice. _I've got to run and inform the others!_

Kommando could smell the desperation in the air emanating from their prey. "Fleeing won't do you any good, Mizuki-san. There is no way for you to escape us at this point."

To elaborate his point, Kommando flung open his white trench coat to reveal something that shocked everyone that was not introduced on a combative level to him. On each side of the interior to his jacket there were rows upon rows of pouches. On the right side were long pouches containing kunai as the left had wider pouches with shuriken.

Mizuki however did not see this show of force and made a dash to the windows, pushing his way through the students. He would have made it without any delay but he was tripped by a long object being brought from behind, around his side, and something at the end of it flipped to be parallel with the ground, catching his feet. He fell to the ground, flailing his arms to try and maintain balance but he only pulled a couple of students down with him.

Kommando had anticipated Raven's trick and attempted use it to pin the traitor down with his thrown weapons but only until innocent students became hostages as Mizuki stood back up, holding a kunoichi under each arm. One with pink hair, the other with indigo.

"Let them go Mizuki. By involving innocent bystanders in your path, you only serve to increase the charges against you," Amanda said as she started to pull her katana out.

Nothing more was said as Mizuki tightened his headlocks on the two students and plunged out the window with them in tow.

"FUCK! DAISUKE, RAVEN!"

Cursing under her breath, Raven readjusted her grip on the haft of her weapon as she and Daisuke followed the orders and jumped out the window in pursuit. Kommando looked at Amanda, who in turn shook her head. "They can handle it. It's our duties as instructors here to make sure the rest of the students stay safe, you know that."

Sighing, Kommando looked over the students. He took note of the chakra signatures in the room and compared it to the list he had memorized not long after he and Amanda had started teaching at the Academy. Shock hit him square in the face when he noticed that one key signature was departing at a high speed, just behind his two subordinates. "Fucking hell…"

* * *

Daisuke and Raven had little problems keeping up with the chase of Mizuki, since he had to try and escape with two hostages. This inadvertently slowed him down, but what caught the two Darkness-nin off guard was the killer intent they felt coming from behind them and gaining fast.

"I hope that's friendly and not enemy coming up behind us Daisuke."

Daisuke focused a bit more on the impending signature while he kept pace with the traitor that still had a great distance on them. "Holy hell, that's **Naruto** that's on the chase!"


	4. Knots of All Kinds

Disclaimer:

Check the Preface for this crap. I do however own Raven and Daisuke, so bow down! And Chaos666 also still owns Jack/Amanda/Kommando/Ankokugakure, despite me having given the Village Hidden in the Darkness a kick-ass name.

* * *

Notes: First, sorry about last chapter being about 1000 words short of what my original goal was, but I felt that I had created an excellent cliffhanger.

Thanks to everyone that's hit up the story thus far, and a bigger thank you to those of you that have left reviews and added this to your alerts/favorites listings, that really means a lot. Especially with this actually being my first fanfiction shot. It's not even been five hours and I went from 379 hits on the story when I posted the last chapter to having 518 when my groggy eyes refreshed the stats page in my profile. (Yawn) sometimes, I wish I didn't make the choice to return to powerlifting: I hate those two hour long bus rides into Seattle just so I can get a real workout (grumbles).

And just so you guys know, I've already gotten around the dilemma some of you thought I had created with revealing Mizuki as a traitor this soon and Naruto's issue with clones. So you can just sit back and relax Shawny Wong, I've got everything under control! Now I just need to try and figure out why my damn machine likes to replace 'chakra' with 'charka'…

Well here goes folks, 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 3!

* * *

The killer intent that was behind them soon caught up to them. Daisuke and Raven kept their eyes forward as Naruto slowed down as he finally managed to catch them.

"What the hell is going on here guys? What is Mizuki-sensei doing running from Kommando-sensei and Amanda-sensei, and why did he take Sakura-chan and Hinata with him through the window?" Naruto asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"It's because he is not truly what he seems to be," Raven replied, launching herself up ahead of the other two slightly. She could sense that Mizuki had stopped a few hundred feet ahead of them, and was suddenly in the company of more chakra signatures that weren't his or those of his hostages. "Bloody hell, he's stopped and his 'associates' have met up with him."

"Shit! C'mon Naruto, if you're going to help with this, then you gotta speed it up!" Daisuke said as he forced a bit more chakra into his legs to increase the distance he went with each step.

"I'm coming, believe it!"

* * *

Mizuki was standing in a large clearing with the two kunoichi trying to get free of his headlocks. 'I've gotta do something…'

Before he could do anything, he was confronted with the sight of a squad of Iwa shinobi approaching from the opposite end of the clearing. "What are you doing Mizuki? You're jeopardizing the whole operation!" one called out, slamming a massive right arm into a tree.

His right arm was easily three times the size of his left while covered in armor plating. His fist was molded into that of a ball due to the huge casing around it, which also had massive spikes coming out of certain spots of the casing. His body was huge to begin with, but with his arm it looked as if he could lift and throw boulders weighing several thousands of pounds as if they were mere toys.

"I was discovered, don't know how but it doesn't matter now," Mizuki panted as he came to the center. "Besides, I've acquired something more desired than the Forbidden Scroll: I've acquired the Hyuuga heiress."

* * *

Daisuke abruptly stopped in his tracks a few feet away from the clearing, signaling for Raven and Naruto to stop before they revealed themselves. Using his hands, he quickly told the others to walk silently around the clearing as best they could to the middle and wait.

Raven nodded and dropped to the ground as Naruto used his transformation jutsu to change into the form of a common beetle, something he had learned to do from Shino while bored one day. 'Gotta remember to thank him for this afterwards.'

Daisuke made sure that both of his companions were at their positions before he pulled out a scroll from the inside pocket of his trench vest. Biting his thumb down he unsealed it and summoned out a pair of rats with small slings on their backs. He stared them in the eyes before he proceeded to use some paper from another pocket and his bleeding thumb to write down directions. Done with the notes, he put one into the sling on each rat and tapped their noses, imprinting the rats with the signature of whom to go to.

Seeing the small rodents scurry off, he waited for his friends.

* * *

"Impressive indeed Mizuki. It seems that you did manage to acquire a Hyuuga for us after all. The leaders will be quite pleased, and you will receive much more than if you had gotten the forbidden scroll," replied the Iwa leader as he came closer, eyeing Hinata. "Though I don't know what good the pink one will be. Oh well, maybe we could use her as trading stock with that new village that's mysteriously popped up, Otogakure. I hear they're very friendly when it comes to trades involving slaves."

Sakura's eyes widened at hearing this. _Slavery? I can't be a slave! __**Cha! That's right, we can't let ourselves become slaves! We have to become kunoichi and win Sasuke-kun's heart!**_

Sakura startled to struggle more after hearing her Inner Self manifest, but she was unable to do anything when she failed to notice a shinobi in the colors of Iwa and a black face mask came up to her as he pressed a point in her neck. Her body slumped to the ground, soon followed by Hinata as the ninja did the same to her.

"At least they won't put up such a hassle now. They should be unconscious long enough for us to get out of Fire Country and into our own lands before any rescue teams-"

Before the Iwa-nin could say another thing, his ear was punctured by a senbon needle that came supposedly out of nowhere. He fell over dead as the senbon needle proceeded to drip a poison that was visably dissolving the site of contact, quickly melting away everything in its path.

Mizuki stepped back, falling backward after tripping against a rock. 'No, it can't be… There's no way in **hell** that she could have gotten here already!'

* * *

Naruto watched from his place at the side of the clearing in a heavy bayberry bush to Mizuki's right. 'Wow, Raven sure knows how to use that needle-thing of hers well. Wonder if she could teach me how to do that…'

* * *

Daisuke carefully stood up on the branch he occupied, reaching his hands into the exterior pockets of his coat and pulling out a pair of weapons. They resembled the tonfa he had arrived with originally two years ago, but after having trained with the blunt versions for so long, he had been glad to have one day bumped into a girl a year older than him.

His hands twirled them once, admiring the finite edges of each blade as he remembered that first meeting.

_Daisuke was panting as he was twirling the tonfa around, the setting sun making the sweat on his forehead glisten. The dummy he had rigged up to hang before him from a high tree limb had once been stuffed solid with the densest cloth he could find. Now it sagged like a rag doll that had been well-loved._

_He sat down and drank from a water bottle as he noticed a timid signature approach from behind him. He fell backwards and looked up at the brunette girl that was approaching, her hair tied up in twin buns. _

"_Yo," he said, waving a hand at her, tonfa still in his grasp._

"_You must be one of the exchange students from the Village Hidden in the Darkness, aren't you?" she said, cautiously squatting down at his side. Her eyes glanced first at his tonfa and then back to his sunglasses. He knew she, just like all the others, were trying to see through them, but after having worked with Kommando, he learned to infuse his chakra into them to create a barrier from such intrusions._

"_Yep, I'm Daisuke. And you are?"_

_Blushing, she replied. "I'm Ten-Ten. My family maintains the best weapon shop in all the village. I noticed you training from a bit off and then I saw your weapons."_

"_Yeah, the tonfa have been my best friends for a few years now. I've used kunai and shuriken a few times, but I am more of the close-quarters fighter. Since you're affiliated with weapons-smiths, you know what it takes to wield these things I'm sure."_

"_Of course, despite hardly ever seeing a pair. Seeing someone that can efficiently use them is all but impossible to find this side of the Great Ygotsui. I'm impressed at how well you can use them."_

_Sitting back up, he turned and faced Ten-Ten. "It's all about the ability to keep a hold of them and maintain the momentum when going on the offensive. With defense, you have to be careful depending on the type of weapon you're going against."_

_One thing led to another after that day, and they had become fast friends. _

_A few months later and Ten-Ten was waiting in the tree that she knew Daisuke would come to for practice with his tonfa. 'I hope he didn't decide to take the day off…'_

_She didn't have long to wait after that thought when she saw him coming from the main path towards his practice tree, the dummy having been replaced with a fresh one a few weeks prior. He didn't notice his company until she dropped down in front of him_

"_Oh, hey there Ten-chan."_

_She blushed as she brought out a package from behind her back. "Here, I figured you might like these."_

_Daisuke was puzzled, but knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. Carefully undoing the paper, he almost forgot to catch his dropping jaw. In his hands were a pair of tonfa. Not just any tonfa, not the kind he had been using for years that were made of cherry hardwood with well smoothed surfacing. _

_No, these tonfa he knew were special. He had heard legends of these tonfa. Said to be crafted out of some of the strongest alloys that were now a long-lost secret. Gingerly, almost afraid that they would disappear if he mishandled them, Daisuke pulled them off the paper and held one in each hand. _

"_Oh.. my.. god…"_

"_We found them a while ago, buried deep in the most secured of our storages. My father knew they were something high quality as soon as he saw them, but he didn't know what to do with them. He just decided to put them up at the front of the store, and see if any new business would crop up."_

"_I'm not surprised that no one had sense enough to buy them. These are beautifully crafted and," twirling the one in his right hand, "they're perfectly balanced too." He twirled the one in his left hand and noticed something. "I can't believe it, your family had these legendary tonfa. These were thought to have been lost centuries ago…"_

_Puzzled, Ten-Ten looked up, her brown eyes looking into the mirrored surface of his sunglasses. 'I wish I could see what you look like under those someday…' "Are they truly that important?" she asked, putting her arms behind her back with one hand gripping her other elbow slightly._

_Looking up at her, he could tell what she had been thinking. "Yes, these were once rumored to have been used by the original founder of Ankokugakure, many generations before the ways of the shinobi traversed the passes of the dividing mountains to the east. She was said to have been the one to cut those passes herself with these blades, allowing those that wished to, passage on land to new places. When she had passed on, her tonfa were said to have been lost during the revolution that occurred afterwards. It had all been over these tonfa, to see who had the 'right' to claim them as theirs and 'rule' our village. But it seems that time merely hid them and not just take them away…"_

_What surprised Ten-Ten in the next moment was something she would never forget: something she had always wanted since she had first heard of the mysterious shinobi that came from across the mountains. And that desire only became so much stronger after she had come to be friends with the one standing before her._

_Daisuke placed the tonfa, in all their glory, softly on the paper on the ground and straightened up before her. She held her breath as she noticed his left hand come up to his face and his fingers clasp the bridge of his sunglasses on his nose. Her eyes went wide as she saw him pull them forward and down, until his hand was at his side._

_His eyes were closed up until the moment his hand had stopped. Then he opened them, causing Ten-ten to gasp. She saw now why he always wore the sunglasses, no matter what time of day it was._

_His eyes were very different. His left eye was a deep brown, much like her own, but it had a yellow pentagram around the pupil. His right eye was as blue as the early morning sky all around, no pupil. His right eye also had a pentagram, but it was a shade of crimson._

"_Now you see why I hide my eyes. I'm like Kommando, the other guy that came to Konoha with me last year. We are both blind, but while he is completely blind, I am only partially."_

_He lowered his arms back down and slowly kneeled down out of Ten-Ten's arms and picked up the tonfa she had given him. "Do you know what they were once called, these legendary weapons?"_

_Her only response was a firm shake of the head. _

"_The real name of the tonfa blades that the founder wielded was long lost amongst the great history of our village. Lost almost as easily as were the origins of the ninja arts had come from." Stepping back from her, Daisuke gripped the handles and twirled each one slightly, taking note of the ease in which they moved. "The only name that has survived through the generations for these are what the founder herself had been called by her enemies."_

"_Akuma Buyouka no Shinen, Demon Dancer of the Abyss." _

"Indeed, I must make sure to again thank Ten-chan for these," he said as he gripped the handles of the edged tonfa firmly, flipping the blades downward into the attack stance as he waited for Naruto to move.

* * *

The Iwa leader stepped back after seeing his subordinate getting impaled by the projectile. "Move out! Find the one who threw that needle and fast! We can't afford for there to be any uncontained factors as we make our way out!"

There was little hesitation as the last two ninja behind him nodded and disappeared into the ground quickly. They had seen the direction from which the needle had come, and were quickly making their way to Raven's hiding spot. A scream could be heard as they emerged from beneath her in the ground and caught her ankles.

One was coming out of the ground with both her ankles in his hands as the other came up on the other side of her and relieved her of the scythe, holding it carefully so as to not trigger any traps that may or may not have been placed on it.

They carried her out of the bushes and into the clearing, now bound by hardened earth into a chain of sorts. The two Iwa nin placed her on her knees before the larger man and Mizuki. The leader looked down at her and then at her weapon, still in the hands of the second ninja.

He took a moment longer to examine her before nodding. Before she could do anything, Raven slumped forward after the first nin pressed the same point in her neck as he had Sakura and Hinata.

"You really must learn to be more careful Mizuki. Otherwise you won't live long in Iwa."

"That's if he actually gets out of Fire Country alive you jerk!"

The three Iwa nin and the traitor turned to the other side of the clearing at this, seeing an orange blur coming at them. Mizuki sneered as he relaxed. "No need to worry, he's only one of the lowest scored students I was 'teaching', his only positive attribute is his talent with kunai and shuriken."

"You bastard Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he flung several kunai recklessly. The two chunin from Iwa deflected his kunai with their own. "You betrayed us! Why?"

"Beause Naruto, that village is a bunch of ungrateful slobs! You should know what I mean, after all, look at how they've treated you all your life! You better than anyone should be mad at them for what they've done to you in the past," Mizuki said as he stood straight, getting cocky with the young boy before him.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. 'What does he mean?'

"You know why the villagers always hunted you down after you were born Naruto? Do you know why no family ever wanted to adopt you from the orphanage before the Sandaime Hokage put you up in the Academy apartments when you started?"

Naruto shook his head slightly, trying to not let the words Mizuki was saying get the better of him. He needed to keep focused on saving Raven, Sakura and Hinata.

'Shit, he's gonna blab about Naruto's 'tenant'…' Daisuke thought. In a hurry, Daisuke leapt out of the tree and landed in the clearing not far behind the rest of the group. None of the enemy nin seemed to notice him at all, leaving Daisuke enough time to mold his chakra into a few hand sands and concentrate on a hypnotic genjutsu.

The large Iwa nin immediately noticed this and turned to see Daisuke perform the last hand sign.

"Shit, there's another one, and he's trying to use a genjutsu on us!"

Mizuki turned and saw the last sign form. "Shit, not him," he said out loud. He moved as fast as he could before the area that the Iwa nin were in was affected by the genjutsu.

Naruto took this opportunity to try and get physical control of the situation. He ran at the chunin in Konoha attire and threw a kick, only to be blocked by a hand and flipped onto his side on the ground.

"For being one of the most feared people in the village, you sure are weak Naruto," came Mizuki's taunts. Instead of allowing Naruto the chance to get up off the ground, the man slammed his foot painfully into the small of Naruto's back, sending waves of pain throughout his body and forcing him to scream out in pain.

"I'll tell you why the entire village hates you Naruto."

Daisuke pulled out his tonfa again, preparing to charge Mizuki from behind, but found it impossible to do anything when he found the large right spiked hook of the Iwa leader knock him in the chin and send him flying.

"What are you talking about Mizuki-sensei? What could I possibly embody that could strike fear into the hearts of most of the village?" Naruto asked, losing the calm in his voice he needed to try and contain the situation as long as he could.

"No Mizuki! You know very well that it's against the law to-" Daisuke tried to say before he was silenced by a strong strike to the head, effectively rendering him unconscious.

The large man with the larger right arm looked up as Mizuki jumped a few feet back as a katana embedded itself into the ground he had been standing on just a moment prior.

"Dammit, I missed stabbing you in the head, such a pity," Amanda said, pulling her katana from the soil. She reached down and pulled Naruto up to his feet and pushed him to the side.

Mizuki looked from side to side as the brute turned to face the newcomer. "Heh, you seem to be into the kinky stuff. So how bout you come with me and have some 'fun' sweet-cheeks?" he asked, eyeing her assets.

"No thanks, I prefer something of a finer touch than a slobbering mongrel. Now just step away from my students and head back to Iwa; I have business to deal with and that is Mizuki," she said, flicking her bangs out of her eyes and readying her katana.

"I'm sure we can figure something out. C'mon, you know you want to."

"She said no, ass-hat!" Naruto yelled, charging at the big man and threw a punch. It was deflected easily enough and countered by a massive right jab to the chest, sending him flying.

"Na-Naruto!" called Daisuke, slowly getting off the ground. His face covered in blood from the puncture wounds. "Naruto, leave him be! Our job is to get the girls out of here! There is no need for you to waste your energy like that!"

Standing up from the tree he had been sent into, Naruto glared at the man with the massive ham-fists. "I don't care who you are or how big you are, no matter what I won't tolerate my friends, or anyone for that matter, to get pushed around and treated like possessions. I will protect those that are precious to me, and that will be my nindo, my word! Believe it!"

Before Naruto had a chance to charge again, he found himself being restrained by Daisuke.

"Listen to me Naruto. He is as strong as Gai-sensei is when holding back in training. You won't be able to handle many more hits like that one," Daisuke said, putting more effort into restraining the blonde than he had the energy for.

"I don't care! He needs to be beaten down for what he's done!" Before Daisuke had a chance to say anything more, Naruto lowered his head down and rammed it back up, knocking the crown of his head into the forehead of his friend. Naruto was surprised to hear a _poof_ and fall down on his rear end as he turned to see not one but three other Daisukes holding the girls, all unconscious.

"What was that Daisuke? Clones can't do more than just move around and act like you! So how can yours seem almost as if they're actually real?" he asked, bewildered by the sheer power these clones were showing off.

"I'll be sure to explain it later Naruto. It's a variant of the clone jutsu, created long ago in Ankoku, and was spread across the world of the shinobi." Closing his eyes, he turned and proceeded to head back in the direction of Konoha.

"But what about-" Naruto started.

"Don't worry about these two, Naruto; you just need to make sure that Daisuke and the others get back to the village safely."

Naruto turned and saw a group of shinobi had circled the clearing. He saw several ANBU amongst them, as well as Iruka, Sarutobi and Kommando.

"Naruto, as your Hokage, I order you to follow and if need be, assist Daisuke in returning the girls safely," directed the old man, his pipe puffing up a small cloud of smoke as he spoke.

Naruto grimaced, seeing that he was outnumbered and outranked. "Fine, but there better be something in all this for me."

Sarutobi chuckled inwardly. 'Don't worry Naruto, you'll find something of great use will be your reward soon enough.'

Taking one last look at the group as he made his way out of the clearing, Naruto could see that someone had trapped the shadow of the large Iwa nin to hold him in place, and a pack of nin-ken had latched onto Mizuki's limbs to restrain him. The last thing he heard from the clearing was the screams as four enemy nin were brutally punished, three of which would end up dying from 'unknown causes' while the fourth would be beheaded later in the week on the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Naruto finally caught up with Daisuke and his 'wonder clones' still a ways from the gate to the village. He could see that his friend was obviously not doing too well: the two clones were trudging behind him and all of a sudden, they disappeared in a cloud of smoke and their cargos were dropped unfashionably to the ground.

"Raven, Hinata!" Naruto yelled, running up to them. He checked each of their pulses.

"They'll be fine, they just got knocked out is all," Daisuke said, then he also proceeded to fall to his knees. "Think I should show you that clone variant now Naruto. After all, my chakra is kinda on the low side after all that's happened so far today, and we still are a long way out from the village."

"Oh yeah! So tell me, what is this clone variant or whatever and how do I do it?"

Putting Sakura down on the ground gently, he turned to the whiskering boy. "It's simple really, you just gotta do the same hand sign line up for normal clones, but you use a cross sign with your fore and middle fingers at the end instead of the regular one; right hand going horizontally behind the left fingers as they go vertically." Hesitating while storing chakra, "Like this." Daisuke went through the series of signs and ended with the said sign of crossed fingers, and in a poof of smoke appeared an exact copy of himself.

"So what's so different from the normal clones?" Naruto asked as he examined the clone, poking him in the chest.

"Normally, doing just that, poking them, causes a regular clone to dissipate. But shadow clones are different; they are able to fight for a short time because they actually get a small percentage of your own physical abilities. They also think, act, and move around like you. But you have to be careful with these ones, for a few reasons."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked again, punching Daisuke's clone firmly in the gut.

"For one, they actually need a good amount of force to dispel them unless the caster does it themselves. Then there's the latent powers of this clone jutsu," he smirked, knowing he had just reeled in a big gullible blonde fish.

"And?"

"When they are dispelled, all the actions the clone made and took part in, from physical memory to any thoughts or ideas or the such are instantly transferred back to you. You have to be careful because dispelling more clones than one or two at a time so they don't go and overload your mind by dispelling all of them at once." Before Daisuke could say any more on the topic, his fresh clone dispelled itself as he fell face first into the dirt path.

"Daisuke!" Naruto yelled, trying to wake up his friend. After several attempts, Naruto finally decided he may as well try out the new clone variant.

He took several minutes to go over the hand sign alteration, making sure he knew it by heart. He took one deep breath as he called out the name.

No success as he failed to hear any poofs of smoke around him. 'Daisuke, you better be telling the truth, or else I'm gonna kick your ass when we get done at the Academy!'

An hour went by and Naruto was just about to give up the jutsu when he decided one more time wouldn't hurt.

"C'mon, I need this to work. Without this jutsu, I won't be able to graduate, and then I'll have to also haul these four back until I'm exhausted."

Closing his eyes, he focused his mind once more. He knew he was almost out of chakra, and that he probably didn't have enough to successfully perform this last attempt. But he had to try and make sure that everyone got back to Konohagakure fast.

But when he put the last bit of his own chakra into it, he noticed a tint of red to it. That tint soon become a full stream and then river of red from somewhere in him.

'What is this feeling? I don't have red chakra!'

'**This is the one whose supposed to be my jailor?' **a dark voice rang through his head.

'What the FUCK!?'

'**Keep it down kit, I'm old but no where near deaf**,' came the dark response.

'Who are you and what are you doing in my head?' Naruto asked nervously.

'**Who I am and what I'm doing here are unimportant at the moment. Now get your ass in gear with this small taste of chakra I'm giving you. Think of it as 'back-rent' for the last twelve years.'**

Before Naruto knew it, he formed the last hand sign correctly. With the red chakra strengthening his own chakra, Naruto was amazed to see the results. Before him stood a hundred copies of himself.

'**Now get a move on back to the village! Everyone of you needs to be seen fast by a medic. My healing powers only go so far with us, and my strength hasn't completely returned yet, not after that twelve year nap anyway.'**

"Alright guys! Let's get ourselves all the way to the hospital before anything bad happens!" Naruto said as a group of his clones stood around him and lifted him in the air.

The procession of Narutos made its way proudly to the gates of the city, proud that he finally had a working clone jutsu.

* * *

Next thing Daisuke knew, he was laying in a hospital bed, with the light flooding in through the shaded window hitting him in the face. He reached up and found that his sunglasses weren't on his face, and he immediately panicked.

His hands immediately shot out to both sides of the bed in searching for them, until there was a sense that someone was moving towards him. Curiously but without opening his eyes, Daisuke turned to the chakra signature. Before he knew it, someone put his sunglasses back on his face for him.

Sighing in relief, Daisuke relaxed back into the soft bed. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see that the person that had returned his sunglasses was Ten-Ten.

"Mmm what the hell hit me?" he asked, rubbing his face with a bare hand.

Smiling at him, Ten-Ten sat down on a chair next to the bed. "Apparently a rather large spiked object, soon followed by chakra exhaustion."

"Oi, that's right: had to go and stall for time."

"Yeah, there was a beheading a few days ago in the center of the village. We didn't get to see who it was but what was said was more important."

"And what's that, Ten-chan?" Daisuke asked, stretching his arms a tad.

She blushed at the way he always called her that now when they were alone. "The fact that the one who was beheaded was a traitor in our midst who had attempted to steal a very powerful weapon from the village and then attempted to kidnap a Hyuuga and another shinobi-in-training in an attempt to get out of Fire Country when he was finally confronted about the whole matter."

"Ah huh."

"And that if it hadn't been for three more shinobi-to-be, that he would have gotten away and the heir to the Hyuuga clan would have ended up in Iwa," Ten-Ten added, raising an eyebrow. She sensed that he somehow knew all of this already.

"Sounds about right. Man, Sakura sure weighs a lot more than she looks," Daisuke said, scratching his forehead.

"Dai-kun…"

"It's the truth; I think she's actually secretly working on her taijutsu or something; with how she looks and how much she weighs, it's obvious that she's not as fat as most of the other girls in my class."

Sighing, she looked him in what would be expected to be his eyes. "That's not what I meant. What I was going to ask was how did you know how much she weighed, huh?" she asked with a sneer.

"Simple: I was one of the three shinobi-to-be that went on the hunt."

Her jaw dropped at this. "You're kidding! How did Iruka even let that happen?"

"Simpler, I didn't have a choice."

Ten-Ten and Daisuke turned to the open doorway and saw Iruka and the Hokage standing in it.

"Lord Hokage, Iruka-sensei!" both kids exclaimed, surprised to see them outside of their points of occupation.

The Hokage entered the room with pipe in hand but unlit while Iruka stood by the door. "I had ordered Amanda and Kommando to go and take someone that worked at the Academy into custody to hold him for interrogation."

"But one thing led to another, and he and Raven were sent to go after my former colleague Mizuki. Naruto going as well was unintentional," Iruka said as he came in and stood at the foot of the bed.

"Speaking of which, did he pass the clones part of the exam?" Daisuke asked, curiosity getting the better of his judgment.

"Actually, I came here to tell you that because of your participation in the mission last week, that you, Raven, and Naruto will all be given the choice to be made genin as reward for such selflessness and determination," the Hokage said, taking his pipe out of his mouth. "Of course you don't need to worry about anything, the council was in complete agreement. Especially after hearing how dozens of reports had come in of a small army of Narutos carrying a few students from outside the gate all the way to the hospital."

"Heh, seems he got that clone variant to work then I take it." Inside, Daisuke knew that Naruto would be able to accomplish that jutsu.

"Yes, that was rather interesting to see a boy not even out of the Academy performing a forbidden ninjutsu," Sarutobi commented.

Daisuke sweatdropped. "Well, the reason I showed him the variation was…"

The old man laughed, seeing how awkward the Darkness-nin was. "There's no need to worry, Daisuke. I've known for a long time that Naruto has never really been able to perform the most basic of jutsus, due to his large chakra reserves. Even some moderate level ones he has problems with. It seems that he does the best with the jutsus that require vast amounts."

"And it seems that Mizuki also knew of this and had intended to use this as a means of using Naruto to get the forbidden scroll," Iruka added. "Well, I've got to get going; I still have teams to assign, so I'll see you at the Academy later today, right Daisuke?"

Smirking, Daisuke adjusted his sunglasses. "Of course. If I hadn't had been out due to chakra exhaustion, we'd have done all this much sooner, Iruka-sensei."

Waving goodbye, Iruka left the room, leaving the kids and the Hokage alone.

"Hey Ten-chan, can you hand me my clothes? I'd like to get changed so we can go someplace before I have to be at the Academy." Daisuke was obviously uncomfortable still only being in the hospital gown, but he was thankful that the white sheets weren't as see through or thin as some villages had them.

She looked around the room and quickly found his clothes. Handing him the pile, she then went outside with his coat over her arm.

Daisuke got out of the bed and gown after he heard her leave. As he got dressed, he noticed Sarutobi was preoccupied.

"Something on your mind, Sandaime-sama?

'I just want to know what was it you were doing with knowing the shadow clone jutsu?" was all he said.

"Simple really," he answered as he pulled on the last bit of his outfit. "Our villages on the other side of the mountains teaches their students much differently. We divide each year into two courses. My two years in the Ankokugakure Academy were 'history of the shinobi nations: east and west' and taijutsu during first year, then genjutsu and ninjutsu my second year. And we also believe in teaching your village's signature clone jutsu during basic ninjutsu training, so everyone in our village actually knows the shadow clone jutsu."

"Hm, well just make sure that Naruto is the only genin that can use it, aside from you and Raven." Sarutobi took one last puff and tapped the contents of his pipe into a trash can.

"Don't worry, Raven actually hadn't taken basic ninjutsu yet so she never got the chance to learn shadow clones before we had left home. But when we go back, we're going to be taking catch-up courses in order to stay up to date with our own village's techniques," Daisuke said as he fastened his boots.

"Alright, just make sure it stays that way then. Last thing I need is all this year's genin teams out for weeks because they exhausted themselves on a forbidden jutsu," Sarutobi said as he left the hospital room.

Ten-Ten entered the room after seeing the Hokage leave and not close the door.

'So where do you want to go?" she asked, handing the trench vest to Daisuke.

"Let's go grab some ramen to go, and then hit the dummy tree." Daisuke offered out his arm as sign of his manners

Ten-Ten nodded and took his arm. 'Hmmmm something's up with him, but I think I'll just go with the flow for now.'

* * *

They had just finished their ramen at their usual spot under the tree where they had first met when Daisuke stood up. She didn't notice until he offered her a hand to stand up.

"Ten-chan, I think it's time I let you in on something. Something real important about me that you should know before too much longer," Daisuke said in a soft but firm tone. She nodded her head as she watched him take a few breaths, probably slowing his heart rate down.

He took her hands into his as he started to speak softly. "I was born totally sighted, but that didn't last long. I had actually been born in a small village not far from my current home village Ankoku. Not long after I was born, I was told that someone had come and slaughtered the entire village except for a few weak survivors that slipped away at the start of the massacre. Among them was my mother, but she had passed on not long after leaving, still weak from birthing me. The survivors were broken into groups of threes and fours, but no one had noticed my mother fall behind until it was too late."

"My mother had fallen down with me in her arms after tripping over a giant root. When she fell, her head connected with another root just in front of her. Her fall onto that next root instantly snapped her fragile body like tossing a plate onto the floor. Unfortunately, I was thrown from her arms as her last act to protect me."

She noticed tears forming in his eyes, but didn't know what to do for him. So Ten-Ten just did what she did best and stepped closer and placed a hand on his upper arm and continued to listen to his story.

"Next thing the others know, they sensed a surge of chakra behind them. When they came back, they found my mother's broken and dead body, and I was some distance from her with blood still pouring from a wound on my face. Apparently I had been tossed in such a way that I had unfortunately landed face first onto some pointed rocks, thus gouging my eyes out, more-so my right than my left. Both eyes were instantly useless though, and I was bawling like the defenseless and orphaned infant that fate had just made me."

"Then, as I have been told in secret, the most disturbing thing occurred. From out of the shadows came a glowing panther, one with two tails and its fur tinged in purple. The two refugees told me that it came right up to me as I was laying there crying and nudged me with its nose. It glanced up at them and slightly purred at them, before it spoke."

"'**Do not worry about this kitten, for he shall be a proud one someday after I have joined with him. I shall watch over him as his mother has succumbed to the grips of Shinigami because of the cruel jokes of Unmeiko, so that he may become as normal as his heritage will allow him.'** Those were the exact words that were said by the panther to the two refugees."

"Before either of the refugees could say anything, there was a surge of darkness from the demon, and when it settled they could not find any signs of it. When they had picked me up, they immediately saw what had happened."

Daisuke lifted up the sleeve of his left arm and then his right, each far past his elbows. He concentrated his chakra, thus causing strings of designs to appear on both arms that ended within his gloves. He then pulled off the gloves carefully and dropped them, the craters they created going unnoticed. On the backs of his hands were pentagram seals with strange characters in and around them.

Ten-Ten looked on as he held up the seals for her to see. She was indeed surprised, but not in the 'what the fuck are you?' way Daisuke had been expecting. Instead he saw tears forming in her eyes as she absorbed the story, and waited patiently.

"That demon was the Nibi no Nekomata, the Two-Tailed Cat Demoness. She had been fleeing from captors when she had come across us. To save herself and to assist us, she willingly sealed herself into me. Needless to say, the two refugees took no chances of getting caught and hurried back on their way to safety, with me and my secret 'tenant' in their arms."

Daisuke put his gloves back on after releasing his molded chakra and pulled his sleeves back down. He was caught off guard when Ten-Ten wrapped her arms around him and put her head down onto his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through so much pain at such a young age, Dai-kun…" she whispered into his ear.

He blushed slightly at this as he gently wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay, Ten-chan. I might not have grown up with my real mother, but I've always known that someday I will get to have the chance at getting to know Nekomata. For the seals on my arms are not to just bind our beings into one body, but also for me to one day become her successor."

Her eyes widened, and Daisuke could sense the tension increase in her arms.

"Yes, one day I will become a hanyou, a half-demon, and take Nekomata's place as the leader of the feline demons. Maybe I might one day become a full demon, but I won't know for sure until I've managed to awaken her from her slumber." Daisuke started to glide his hands up and down her back gently to relieve the stress she was emitting.

Pulling back slightly, she looked into his eyes once again. "So, she's only asleep right now?"

Smiling slightly, he nodded. "In a way, yes. She expended a great amount of her energy to perform the double-sealing, and the healing that occurred immediately afterwards took even more. Though she was able to heal my eyes, they don't function in the same way a normal person's does. In short, I've gained some new vision but gave up a significant amount of my normal vision just so I would be able to still see at all." Closing his eyes, "But for what she has done for me thus far, I am thankful. That much is clear."

She could sense the feelings he was feeling. 'Oh Dai-kun…' she thought to herself.

Ten-Ten had been feeling strange feelings ever since she had first met Daisuke in person, and it had confused her ever since. It was more than as a friend to her; strangely enough, she had found that it was on par with the feelings she had for Neji Hyuuga, one of her teammates under Gai-sensei. She didn't know what to do about the whole situation, between her teammate and this younger, now more fragile yet still stronger boy in her arms.

It wasn't until that moment that she had figured out what she was truly feeling. And she knew of only one way to show Daisuke how she truly felt about him.

Daisuke was caught off guard from his reverie of staring into Ten-ten's eyes as he noticed she moved her head closer to his, slowly tilting her head to his as her eyes slowly slid closed. His heart was racing, for he had no experience in any situation like this before.

Before their lips met in that first innocent kiss though, there was a loud screaming noise that seemed to get closer with each second, soon followed by a loud explosion that kicked up dust everywhere for twenty feet around.

Daisuke put himself between the explosion and Ten-Ten in the event it was an attack or an enemy.

What surprised them next was what they saw. In the crater was Naruto, with a large black eye.

'Sakura…' they both sweatdropped, knowing that Naruto had attempted to ask out the pink haried kunoichi _yet again_.

* * *

PS- God I'm tired. By the time I got this chapter done, it's already past 5:00 a.m. here. Well I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I made it extra long for you because of how short my last update was. Laters!

PPS- I'll try not to hurry up the end of a chapter as I had with this one. You can obviously see that I had made a lot of mistakes, but I blame them on the fact I worked the last hour and a half with my eyes closed just so I could concentrate on putting the story down. No promises though.


	5. Intertwining of Threads p1

Disclaimer:

Again, refer to the Preface. Raven and Daisuke are mine, Jack/Amanda/Kommando are Chaos'.

* * *

Notes: Whew, this is going great! I put last chapter up after having spent six hours working on it last night, and I refused to hit the sack last night until I at least had it published. By the time I checked my stats page, I've now scored over 800 hits on 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', from Preface to Chapter 3. Thanks to all of you that are reading this, and more thanks to you that add this to your alerts/favorites.

Now, to address something that I figured might cause a confusion: Daisuke being the jinchuuriki for Nibi no Nekomata. Don't worry, I know that I said in the Preface that it had been eight years since Jack had last heard of news on Nekomata, and I had sealed her into Daisuke just after he was born. No, Daisuke isn't actually eight, he was ten at the start and now twelve. I'll explain the facts either in this or the next installment.

One last note: everyone, please leave a review! I know that I must be doing something right since I've gotten so many hits and this story hasn't been up for more than a few days, but how can I know what people think if only a couple of people leave reviews? C'mon, I can only improve the story with your input. And who knows, if someone drops me a really good idea, I may actually give that person or those persons a character in the story…

And now, on with the next chapter of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'!

* * *

"Ugh…" came the voice of the blonde ninja as he pulled himself out of the large crater. "I'm starting to think that Sakura-chan doesn't like me…"

Ten-Ten and Daisuke sweatdropped as they started to help Naruto on his feet.

'He's just **now** getting the hint? Damn he's dense.' Daisuke held Naruto's chin and he adjusted his head this way and that, checking his chakra flow to make sure the vertebrae in his neck and back to see nothing was out of place or broken.

'He's been going after that pink-haired loudmouth? I'm surprised he's only just now seeing that she's got eyes for only one kid.' Ten-Ten held up Naruto under one arm as they moved over to the tree and she helped him to sit down.

"So I hear you finally were able to make some clones Naruto," Daisuke said as he plopped down in front of his friend.

Naruto looked up and gave off his trademark 'foxy' grin, eyes closed as his mouth went from ear to ear and his six whisker marks stretching. "Yep, thanks to you I can pass the clone part of the exam when we take it later today at the Academy!"

'Hmm, seems that no one's told him yet about the 'reward'… Nah, I'll let him show off before Iruka-sensei announces the fact that he's already been advanced by order of the council.'

Ten-Ten looked between the two boys sitting before her. "So then I take it you've had problems with making the regular clones?"

"Yep, for some reason I've never been able to get the jutsu down perfectly. I've always failed the tests and practices we did with it in class," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head.

She nodded as she sat down next to Daisuke, trying to hide the blush she had on her face as Daisuke slipped a hand towards her.

Daisuke didn't let his emotions betray his façade, but inwardly he was cursing Naruto and his inept ability to ruin great moods. 'Believe me Naruto, you will **pay** for ruining that moment.'

Naruto opened his eyes again, and quirked an eyebrow as he noticed the situation in front of him. He saw the blush on her face increase as she tried to slowly lean closer to Daisuke. 'Hehehe, time to get to the bottom of this…'

"Hey Daisuke, whose your girlfriend?" he asked, raising his eyebrow even further, pointing a finger at Ten-Ten.

He hiccupped slightly at this, noticing Ten-Ten jump in alarm. She faced him with a full blown blush on her face, as a slight pink rose onto his own.

"This is Ten-Ten, her family owns and operates the best weapons shop in the village. She's also the one that gave me my edged tonfa," he stated calmly, gripping her hand slightly as he scooted closer to her.

Naruto was caught off guard by the straight-forward approach Daisuke had taken to his assault. 'Mhm, so the plot thickens.'

"So how long have you been hiding her from Amanda and Kommando? I'm sure they would be real interested in finding out that you've been dating an older woman," Naruto asked, plastering his 'foxy' grin back on, thinking he had gotten his friend cornered.

"Actually, we figured as much out one day a while back when we found her spying on him while he was training out here," came a woman's voice from their right. Turning, he saw the Darkness-kunoichi fidgeting with her blue hair as she sat up in a tree a few feet away.

"Yes, although I was quite surprised by the turn of events, I knew that eventually he would run into someone that wasn't a part of that damn fan-girl group that constantly chases him around the village."

Kommando dropped to their left, silently landing a foot away from the group of kids. He took out a kunai from his coat and started to cut apart an apple as he sat down near them, taking notice of the different reactions.

'What!? He's got a fan-girl gathering too? Man this stinks!' Naruto thought as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

Ten-Ten's eye twitched after hearing Kommando. 'What? He has a following?" She turned to Daisuke as she leaned in closer. "We'll be talking about this 'fan-girl' situation later, Dai_-kun_."

Shivers ran down his spine as his eyes reflexively closed. 'Oh boy…'

"Naruto, don't get so caught up with what Daisuke was cursed with. I remember when we left Ankoku, you should have heard the wailing cries of the girls back home at hearing he would be departing for two years," Amanda said, braiding some of her hair together. "I remember seeing the Yamikage having to use a barrier jutsu to keep them in the village as we made a hasty exit."

Kommando chuckled as he put the first piece of his apple into his mouth. "Yeah, and besides," he said. "You've got something similar to what he and Sasuke have, but you're lucky that it's only one person and not a majority of the village girls and young kunoichi."

Naruto's ears perked at hearing that. "Really!?"

Daisuke looked at his blonde friend. "Yep, and I'm really amazed at how flipping dense you are about her Naruto. I mean, Kommando and I are blind, and we noticed her immediately on our first day in the Academy!"

"C'mon, tell me who it is! I wanna know!" Naruto whined, jumping up onto his legs, squatting like a fox.

Daisuke saw this. 'Heh, taking after your 'tenant' already I see.' "Nah, I think it'll be better if she reveals herself personally." Before Naruto had a chance to whine further, they heard a twig snapping from behind Naruto. He jumped around the tree and had a kunai at the ready, but he was not ready for who was behind the tree.

* * *

Hinata had been walking through the village as she had done for the last few days since the beheading, trying to figure out where her crush was. 'Oh Naruto-kun, where have you been?' she thought to herself.

She had been relieved to hear that Naruto had been the one that carried her into the village from the incident with Mizuki-sensei, but then she started to worry about him after hearing that it was actually a small army of him that had returned, carrying her and the other two kunoichi as well as Daisuke. She had became afraid of him suffering chakra depletion from such an act.

Her mind wandered as she walked the streets, not noticing Raven come up behind her, her thoughts still on how Naruto could have possibly gone from having the worst luck with the clone jutsu to having made over eight dozen clones that didn't vanish from the effort.

'Hm, seems like it would be as good a time as any to put the plan into action,' Raven thought, noticing Hinata's daydreaming eyes.

Her daze was disrupted when she felt a hand gently grab her by the elbow. Turning, she saw that it was Raven.

"H-hello Raven, how are you today?"

Raven smiled at Hinata as she heard the hesitation in the Hyuuga heiress' voice. "I'm good, they let me out of the hospital a few days ago. I heard that Daisuke was released this morning."

"That's good to hear," Hinata said. Her eyes glanced from side to side, looking for something.

"C'mon, let's go find him. He's probably found Naruto already. And anyways, we still have to finish up with the final three sections of the exam this afternoon at the Academy."

Hinata gasped. "What do you mean? I didn't hear anything about there being exams this afternoon."

'It's just for those of us that were involved in the incident with Mizuki-teme that day. Everyone else had the chance to take their final exams the next day, but we were all still out cold in the hospital. So the council decided to permit a special allowance for us so that we could take the last three parts of the exam after we were all cleared," Raven stated, readjusting her grip on the haft of her scythe.

"B-but how will we do the taijutsu part, there were only five of us involved?" Hinata asked, putting her thumb to her mouth, slightly chewing her thumb nail.

"Don't worry about that part. It was decided that we would each face one of the senseis at the Academy instead of trying to come up with a different plan."

"But w-what about Naruto-kun? I th-thought that he still had problems with his clone jutsu," stated the pale girl, poking her fingers together in her shy mannerism.

Raven smiled at that. She shook her head, saying, "Don't worry about him, I know he's got it all under control."

'R-really?"

"Yep. So c'mon, we should go find them before too much longer." And with that, Raven gently grabbed Hinata by the arm and pulled her to the designated spot she knew she would find the others.

* * *

A few minutes later and they found themselves along the path to Daisuke's training area when the two of them had started to hear talking.

"Really!?" 'That voice…'

"Yep, and I'm really amazed at how flipping dense you are about her Naruto. I mean, Kommando and I are blind, and we noticed her immediately on our first day in the Academy!" 'Seems Daisuke remembered the plan after all.' Raven smirked at her colleague actually doing the right thing for once rather than go off on his own.

Hinata gasped when she heard this, now realizing who was talking and what the discussion was. 'Oh no! It's Naruto-kun… What am I going to do?'

Hinata panicked, and turned around to try and get away before she heard any more of the conversation going on not far ahead of them, but found herself being held in place. She turned back and found that Raven had a firm grasp on her beige jacket.

"R-Raven, I just remembered I'm supposed to train with Father before returning the A-Academy. So I'm sorry but I must re-really be going now."

Raven kept her grasp firm as Hinata tried harder to escape. "Sorry Hinata, but it's time you stepped forward. If you are ever going to get what, or rather _who_, it is that you truly want, then you must be willing to put forth effort to grab it as it presents itself."

Hinata hung her head as she heard those words. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, Raven. B-but I must be going, really I do."

"Nice try there Hinata, but I know as well as you do what it is your heart truly wants."

Hinata's head sprang up, shock in her lavender eyes. 'Oh no, she knows about my crush…' Her body went limp in defeat, now seeing it as futile to hide the truth from herself any further.

"C'mon, tell me who it is! I wanna know!" Naruto whined, making his voice sound frustrated that something about him was being kept from him that didn't need to be a secret.

Hinata's heart threatened to leap out of her chest through her mouth after it sunk in that Naruto wanted to know she felt so much for him. 'He… wants to know that someone actually loves him? That _I_ love him?' Hinata was unknowingly following Raven along the path, closer to the location of where the 'plan' was going to culminate.

They stopped a few feet behind the tree that must have been where Naruto was sitting at, as he was the only one Raven couldn't see from the other side of the tree. Glancing to Hinata, she saw the shy girl was still in a blushing haze at hearing Naruto's last outburst.

'Perfect, she's completely lost within that euphoric state I've seen her in when she is confronted with unexpected happiness finding her,' Raven thought to herself happily as she swung her scythe at a low hangin branch.

She caught the twigs that fell down and tossed them onto the ground before her and Hinata, and poised herself for the signal from Daisuke. She focused her chakra and made her signature noticeably larger, telling the others that were waiting for it that she was ready and waiting.

Daisuke and the two adults caught sight of this and inwardly they all smiled. Everything was about to come to fruition. Daisuke smirked. "Nah, I think it'll be better if she reveals herself personally."

Raven heard this and took one last look before she pushed Hinata onto the twigs before them, and then hid herself in the tree branches above.

Hinata was brought out of her daze by the push and the sounds, and was stunned a moment later when she saw Naruto come around the tree, kunai in hand because he thought someone was attempting a sneak attack.

Naruto fell to the ground when he saw Hinata standing there behind the tree, broken twigs under feet. 'Hinata…?'

She broke out of her second trance as she saw him fall face-first into the ground. "Na-Naruto-kun! Are you alright?" she asked as she kneeled beside him.

Naruto let go of the kunai in his hand as he pushed himself up into the squatting position he had been in before the interruption. "Hi-Hinata? What brings you out here? I thought you'd be training with your family before today's make-up exams…" He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice as he felt her hands helping him stand up.

Both of them failed to see Raven giggle as she leapt from her branch to silently land behind Ten-Ten and Daisuke and kneel down, as if to make it look like she had arrived while Naruto was on the other side of the tree.

"I-I was going to but then I decided to, um…" she stuttered, poking her forefingers together as a small blush crossed her cheeks.

'Wow she looks cute when she does that… WAIT! What did I just think!?' Naruto thought inwardly. This caused something in Naruto's mind to awaken that he had completely forgotten about.

"**So, you think she's cute kit?"** came the voice Naruto had heard the night when Mizuki had been found out as a traitor.

'Whoa, don't scare me like that!' he thought back to the disembodied voice. 'By the way, you _still_ haven't told me who or what you are…'

"**Don't worry kit, I will. Just go with the flow right now, and we will talk later tonight when you've fallen asleep."**

And with that Naruto was thrown back into the real world, the connection between him and the voice in his mind closed. He looked again at Hinata, and she immediately found the ground very interesting as her cheeks became a darker red.

"Hey Hinata, do you want to stay and talk with us for a bit? Me, Daisuke and his girlfriend Ten-Ten?"

Hinata was snapped out of her reverie at hearing the name of the girl who was on the same three man cell as her cousin Neji. 'Oh no, if he finds out…' Before she could do anything, Naruto lightly took her by the hand and pulled her to the other side of the tree where everyone else was sitting patiently.

Daisuke and Raven had big smirks on their faces as Kommando continued to eat his apple, which was nearly gone at this point. Amanda had braided the majority of her long blue hair and was now swinging her head back and forth as she waited for something eventful to occur. Ten-Ten was eyeing Daisuke carefully, gauging his actions carefully.

Just as Naruto was about to sit down and gesture for her to as well, Daisuke coughed and looked at Naruto's left hand. Everyone caught on as Naruto just stood there looking at them all, while Hinata's brain finally caught up to the actions that were going on around her, and something in her brain thus decided to hit the emergency button that told her something glorious had happened.

This button had only been used a few times before, and each time was around Naruto for some reason. When pressed, the action this button caused made Hinata a mystery to her classmates, as they didn't understand why she would just crumple to the ground. This button's sole job was: to make her faint from joy when it came to a leap and a bound in her crush on Naruto, the 'lord prankster' of the village.

As Naruto looked back, he saw Hinata faint. Without thinking, he immediately moved to catch her and prevent her from cracking her head on the tree not more than a foot behind her.

"Hinata! Are you okay, Hinata?" he asked, laying her down on the grass where he had been sitting.

If she had been conscious at that moment, she would have thought that she had died and gone to heaven, or that someone was pulling a cruel joke on her by transforming into him and pranking her like this. But that would have been until she would see the sparkle in his eyes, the life that had made him stand out against the village, through all the hardships.

The very thing she had always seen in him that she wanted so badly to become, and wanted to exclaim her feelings with that same sparkle of life in her eyes to the one who inspired her to do so much.


	6. Intertwining of Threads p2

Disclaimer:

See the Preface. I do own Raven and Daisuke, and Chaos still has Jack/Amanda/Kommando.

* * *

Notes: Woot! I now have a third reviewer on the list! And to answer your assumption Chronostorm, yes, there are going to be lemons abound as this story progresses. I'm going to be making this story so chock full of citrus-goodness that you will never have to worry about scurvy or vitamin C deficiency ever again! But for now, you will have to wait. And no, I did not bunny-breed my chapters (laughing ass off). I just don't have anything else that needs so much time, since I'm currently not attending any form of school.

And if you think that the story is going in an interesting direction now, just wait until I get to the chunin exams! For we have yet to even get everyone graduated and I've made this much content appear. Muahahahaha.

Also thanks to everyone that's reading this, thanks you reviewers and those of you that are adding this to your lists. Means a lot to me since, as I said in an earlier chapter, this is my first shot at fanfiction.

Anyways, that's enough material for the masses from my grey matter. Now on with the newest installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'!

* * *

"Well in all honesty, that actually went better than expected," Daisuke said, breaking the silence. Well, almost silence that is; everyone had been quiet for the last few minutes except for Naruto's incessant attempts to wake up Hinata from her latest fainting spell.

Ten-Ten quirked an eyebrow at hearing this. "Oh, and what do you mean by that, Dai_-kun_?" she asked, sitting up and folding her arms across her chest.

Daisuke was glad he had his sunglasses on, otherwise he might have started sweating bullets. "Just the obvious. You know as well as the rest of us that Naruto is as perceptive as a boulder in the middle of a crowded street, and Hinata has been pining for him for years now. Though we don't know exactly when this all started, we," he waved his arm at the other three aside from her, Naruto and Hinatat, and himself, "were able to identify the situation as soon as we saw the classroom our first day."

_Daisuke and Raven opened the door to the classroom that the Hokage had led them to, and examined their new peers before entering. Many were rambunctiously running around chasing each other or throwing paper balls save a few._

_In the far corner at a window there was a boy wearing a large oversized coat and black glasses, watching some bugs move across his hand. The one sitting on the far side near the center of the rows looked out the window, his 'duck-butt' hairdo immediately made Daisuke hold back a chuckle._

_Raven saw in the back corner opposite of the one with the bugs there was a girl with raven hair and pale lavender eyes, fidgeting with her fingers as she switched back and forth from staring at a boy in a 'look at me, here I am, come and kill me' orange jumpsuit and the water bottle on her desk. Raven raised an eyebrow and nudged Daisuke, who was looking at the antics of a couple of girls who were fighting over a desk next to 'duck-butt', and pointed his eyes to the shy girl in back._

_Daisuke looked at her and saw that her eyes were constantly going back to Naruto, their neighbor and mission objective. Looking at Raven, they both grew wide smiles as they figured it out immediately._

_Before they could move in, they were shoved out of the way as a boy was being chased out of the classroom by the two that had been fighting over the desk. Barking was coming from the hood of his fluff-lined jacket as he laughed his way past Raven and Daisuke before the girls could catch up to him._

_Before they could stop, the two girls, one a blonde with long hair in a ponytail/long bang setup, the other a strangely pink haired girl with a large forehead, barreled into the two kids at the doorway. The whole class turned their entire attention to the doorway and saw the mess. Before anyone could say anything, there had been two sets of poofs as the collision occurred._

_Everyone was shocked to see that, instead of the two that had originally been at the doorway, the 'duck-butt' and the 'kill me now' jumpsuit were under the two girls. The blonde girl and the pinky immediately glomped the 'duck-butt', the pinky after having kicked Naruto to the other side of the room, shouting something about cooties or whatnot._

_The one being glomped looked at Daisuke as the two girls startled to nuzzle his neck, staring daggers at the new guy. Daisuke laughed out loud at this and pointed to his glasses and made the sign for 'blind', causing the 'duck-butt' to raise an eyebrow. Upon hearing Daisuke laugh at him, the two fangirls looked his way, as if trying to kill him with the glares. _

_Raven looked at Naruto as he had been knocked for a loop, eyes rolling around like small balls in a jar as you turned it around. She noticed the shy girl at the back corner stand up for a moment but sat back down after seeing the teachers enter the classroom._

"_Alright girls, let go of Sasuke so we can get started with class please," asked the one with a long scar across the bridge of his nose. The other sensei, with silver hair, picked the blonde boy in the jumpsuit off the floor and put him in a desk in the front row where he administered a packet of smelling salts. Naruto's eyes immediately shot open as he pushed the packet away._

"_Alright students, as you all know, Choji and Shikamaru have been sent to another village for the next two years, and today the students from that village have been able to join us." Iruka immediately figured it out as Daisuke pushed his sunglasses back up his nose as Raven wiped her scythe with a handclothe from her pocket. "Would the two new students please come up and introduce yourselves? After that we will let the other students introduce themselves."_

_Nodding, the two new students came down from the seats they had taken via the substitutions to the front. Daisuke stood on the right of Iruka as Raven the left._

'_Hey everyone, I'm Daisuke. I'm from the Village Hidden in the Darkness, on the other side of the Ygotsui Mountains. I myself prefer to use tonfa in my close-quarters combat, but I have a few ninjutsu skills under my belt already for emergencies. Before you guys ask, I am partially blind and that's why you will always see me with these sunglasses on, somehow similar to the habits of the young Aburame in the back there," pointing to Shino. Shino didn't notice that he had made most of the class gasp as he had raised both eyebrows well above the top of his dark glasses. 'Interesting how he knows of my clan's mannerisms but he didn't give out his clan name...' _

"_My name is Raven, and I too am from Ankokugakure alongside Daisuke. Obviously, my weapon preference is the scythe. I am a mid-range fighter, preferring to keep my enemies far enough away to prevent close quarters but close enough that I can hit them with my weapon."_

_All the students were in awe of the two at the front, minus the one previously named Sasuke, and Naruto as he had already met them the night before._

"_Alright, nice to meet both of you. Now we will start with Yamanaka Ino, would you please introduce yourself to our new students? We'll go from there."_

"So you performed the substitution jutsus with Naruto and Sasuke?" Ten-Ten asked in disbelief.

"Yep, and it seems before that day that Naruto never had shown any signs of being interested in a girl. So we both figured that because of Kiba, we inadvertently started the process of Naruto having a crush on Sakura instead of him finding out about Hinata," Raven said, whispering the last few words so as to not attract Naruto's attention.

"So what are we gonna do about sleeping-beauty there? We gotta get you kids to the Academy soon for your make-up exams, and I'm sure that Ten-_chan_ has to get to training with her teammates," Amanda said as she flopped out of the tree.

Daisuke took a moment to examine how Naruto was still trying to wake up Hinata, all his attempts futile. Then an evil grin crept across his face and he turned back to Ten-Ten.

He gestured her to come closer with his forefinger. Complying, she leaned in and heard him whisper, "Remember how he interrupted what would have been our first kiss?"

She nodded, blushing as bad as Hinata had on several occasions around Naruto.

"Well I vowed to make him pay, and this is the perfect opportunity."

Her eyes went wide as she froze. She was going to grab his arm when she realized what he was going to do but by that time Daisuke had already gotten out of her reach and was already kneeling beside Naruto, whispering into his ear.

The other Darkness-nin looked on in quiet awe as they saw Naruto of all people blush furiously after Daisuke stood back up.

"Dude, you have to be joking!" Naruto whispered loudly.

Grinning, Daisuke shook his head. "Nope, as I see it, that's the only way you're going to be able to wake her up before we're late. I'd hand you some smelling salts but we were out at home this morning."

He quickly moved out of Naruto's range, barely missing the attempt the blonde made at trying to catch his leg. Daisuke chuckled as he jumped back to Ten-Ten's side and squatted down beside her.

Everyone could now see the way Naruto was blushing, and it all reminded them of how Hinata would get red in the face if Naruto had unknowingly gotten too close to her. Kommando laughed a bit at this, now knowing what his cousin must have said to the boy.

"You're evil, you know that Daisuke?" came Naruto's voice, full of something that had never been heard in his voice before. It was something new to them all: Naruto, of all people, was showing, through his own voice, that he was scared.

This took Raven and Amanda by surprise. Never had either of them known or even heard Naruto say anything in that way before, especially after finding out that his dream was to one day become the greatest Hokage ever so he could get the respect of the villagers after all they've done to him.

Before anyone could say anything, Naruto sat down next to Hinata and gently picked her up.

"You're an ass Daisuke, I'm gonna make sure you get it real good for this one. Hope you know that," he said, placing Hinata's head carefully in his lap.

"Hey, this is payback for what happened earlier. And payback is a bitch my friend, don't forget it."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto used a shaking hand to push the bangs away from Hinata's face. 'Wow, she really is pretty now that I can see her without her blushing…'

Daisuke sensed that Ten-Ten was about to stand up and say something, but he stopped that just before she could get up. He moved behind her and wrapped his arms gently around her and leaned forward, putting his head to the side of hers and kissed her cheek. She immediately blushed as bad as Naruto was just a minute prior. As Daisuke put his lips to her cheek, there was a small flash.

Before they knew it, Amanda was showing them the picture she had just taken. Neither of them made a move to grab it, being completely fine with it. Amanda put the camera and the its contents away, saying quickly, "Now you've got some protection against the fangirls of both villages."

Before anyone else said anything, they saw out of the corners of their eyes the one thing that no one had expected to see happen in a million years.

Naruto placed his hand on the side of Hinata's face, gently turning her face towards him. He gulped audibly as he closed his eyes and lowered his head slowly to hers. He could feel each of her breaths as she inhaled and exhaled calmly through her nose. As he drew closer, he subconsciously noticed the smell of lavenders coming at him.

'Wow, she smells_ really_ nice…'

* * *

'**Hahahahaha, I'm glad I woke up when I did. Kit's never gonna live this one down,'** the dark voice thought to itself as it managed to memorize every aspect of the moment for future blackmail.

* * *

Hinata was slowly coming to the real world again, sensing that someone was getting really close to her face. She passed it off as someone just checking to see if anything had happened to her perfectly clear face. That is, until the tip of a nose brushed hers, followed by a set of lips gently being pushed down to hers.

'Oh my god… my first kiss…' Her thoughts were twisted around the thoughts she had had of her first kiss having been given to Naruto when she could finally admit to him her feelings. Ever since she had seen him that first day at the Academy years ago, she had secretly always admired his strength and determination, hoping to one day because strong enough to get his attention.

'But now… I can't give him my first kiss…' A single tear rolled down her face as she thought one of her greatest gifts had just been taken unwillingly from her.

No one seemed to have noticed this. Everyone was amazed at the turn of events.

Never had anyone ever thought that Naruto would end up kissing the heiress to the Hyuuga clan. No one thought they would ever see it happen, even if they did actually believe it may happen one day. Only Daisuke had known it would actually happen but that was at the threat of showing everyone Naruto's most secret of secrets.

Daisuke smirked as the three girls gasped as Naruto kept his mouth in soft contact with Hinata's, neither moving in the slightest. Kommando simply kept peeling away at a fresh apple from his pocket.

Finally, she decided to confront the one who had stolen her first kiss, something she had held for years despite all the pestering from Kiba to come over and hang out, which she knew had just been a ploy to try and go out with him. She had it in her mind that Kiba was the one kissing her, but she decided that the only way to know the truth was to open her eyes.

Raven smiled wide as she noticed Hinata's eyes slowly open, gesturing to the others what had just happened. Everyone slowly nodded and smiled just as wide as her, knowing they had just witnessed the end of the world.

Naruto missed the shocked expression in Hinata's eyes as she finally opened her eyes fully to the world. She had been expecting to see a boy with brown hair, canine eyes and red war paint on his cheeks being her first kiss. Instead she saw the face of her crush.

His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and careful. The whisker marks on his cheeks were slightly pink. 'Is he.. blushing? I never knew he could actually blush,' Hinata thought as she finally broke through the last obstacle of her path. 'He's so handsome, even with a small blush on his face. Oh my Naruto-kun...' Taking the initiative, her left hand slowly started to move from her side as she lifted it up to gently place it on the side of Naruto's head.

His eyes shot open when he felt her soft warm hand on his cheek. 'Oh shit, she's awake! She's gonna kill me for this I just know it!' he thought hurriedly. He attempted to break the kiss, but found that her right hand had somehow gotten a very firm grasp of his jumpsuit just below the oversized collar. He didn't expect her to do the thing she did next.

Keeping her eyes locked with his the entire time, Hinata tentatively rubbed his cheek with her hand as she started to kiss back against his lips. She knew this wasn't a dream and that it wasn't a cruel joke anymore. She saw that sparkle in his eyes as she had all the times before. She knew that this was the real Naruto she was kissing, and now there was nothing that would stop her from being like this now, villagers be damned. 'Oh my Naruto-kun…'

The two of them were brought out of their isolated world as they noticed five shadows converge over them.

Breaking the kiss, Hinata eased Naruto back so she could sit up without knocking their foreheads together. She did not however keep the inevitable blush from appearing on her face at seeing who was standing around them.

"So Naruto, whose your girlfriend?"


	7. Formng the Bloody Threads p1

Disclaimer:

See the Preface. Raven and Daisuke are mine, and Chaos still owns his OCs.

* * *

Notes: I was thinking about taking a break for a bit from the fanfic scene, but upon reflecting on the words of my newest reviewer, I decided: why break the flow when the mojo is still going? So now Chronostorm, I have indeed started raising a 'chapter breeding farm'.

Hope you guys liked last chapter, I felt it was a giant leap into the 'romance' part of the story. Now I can get to the fun stuff. Plus I just need to get off my lazy ass and get through the make-up graduation exams. How troublesome.

Again, please leave a review! Anything is welcome. For, if I get no reviews, whether they are good or bad in nature, how can I know what is good and what is bad in the eyes of those that I seek to entertain with my hard work?

Now on with today's first installment; yes, I will most likely put out another chapter sometime before or shortly after midnight tonight, making it a running joke about the breeding farm, Chapter 6 of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'.

* * *

To say that Sasuke was fed up with the behavior of all the girls in his class that insisted on fighting over him was an understatement.

Sasuke knew that all they were after was his status as the last Uchiha, but that didn't mean he had to put up with it. Every day, ever since the start of his attendance at the Academy, he had been ogled by almost all the girls in school.

He turned his attention to the doorway, past the brawl that had broken out yet again between Ino and Sakura as they fought over who got to sit in the desk next to him. It had been made public after Mizuki had been beheaded that several students from the Academy were in the hospital for various injuries and chakra depletion as a result of their actions during the event, but he was furious at the fact that the procession of the graduation exam had been put on hold for those that had been out for the last two weeks.

'Why should there be any special considerations made for weaklings who can't even be sure to watch their chakra usage? How pathetic. They shouldn't be allowed to continue their attempts as ninja if they can't make sure they don't over step their limits in combat.'

Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts as he saw a large group enter the room, consisting first of assorted jonin he had not met before, followed then by the four other students that had been involved with the incident and a girl who already had her hitai-ite. After them came in Iruka and lastly the Hokage.

'What's the Hokage doing here?' was the thought crossing the minds of most of the students, minus one that was sleeping and another who was munching on a bag of potato chips.

"Alright students, settle down before we commence." Iruka tapped his foot as he waited for the fan girls to settle themselves enough to part ways until the next brawl. "Okay, Sakura, would you please come up here and stand alongside Hinata?"

Curious, the pink-haired kunoichi came up as instructed and faced the rest of the class. Before she could say or do anything else, the Hokage stepped forward.

"As you all know, these five students were in some way involved with the incident two weeks ago concerning Mizuki. Due to the turn of events, we have had to postpone the procession of the graduation exams long enough for the students to be completely healthy again before we return to schedule." The Hokage turned and nodded to the jonin that were standing in the corner opposite the doorway.

"Now, for the taijutsu part of the exam, each of you will be facing a jonin instructor or their proxy, rather than fighting each other or one of the other students," said Iruka, motioning to the people in the corner again. "Will the following jonin and or proxy please come up here and stand in front of the person as I step away from them?"

Iruka stepped in front of Sakura. "Yuhi Kurenai." A woman with black hair, red eyes and wrapped in some sort of strange clothing stepped up and to the side of Sakura.

Stepping in front of Hinata. "Shiranui Genma." A man in the standard jonin attire stepped up and looked over the group before taking his place alongside Hinata, his mouth occupied with a senbon needle as he adjusted his backwards hitai-ite bandanna.

In front of Raven. "Hatake Kakashi." A man who seemed about as energetic as Shikamaru stepped forward and stood next to Raven, eyeing her scythe with his one eye, the other covered by his standard issue Leaf headband. She couldn't see it due to the mask over his face but Kakashi's mouth was turned up slightly into a smirk.

Before Naruto. "Sarutobi Asuma." A man that bore a striking resemblance to the Hokage stepped up, unlit cigarette in his mouth. He eyed Naruto closely as he stood beside him.

In front of Daisuke. "And as the proxy for Might Gai, Ten-Ten." There was a pause from Ten-Ten as she stepped forward cautiously before Daisuke. She mouthed the words _I'll tell you while we walk to the dojo_ before standing to his side. Nodding slightly, he kept his eyes forward as Iruka continued.

"Now that the exams have been announced, will everyone please follow me to the dojo on the first floor of the building?"

The Hokage walked to the door and waited as he watched the students pass him and follow Iruka out the door. By the time the students and the other jonin were out, Sarutobi took a moment and turned to the people still in the room.

"The reason you have really been paired such as this is because each of you will face an aspect of life as a shinobi that you may find difficult to face under normal circumstances. It is in hopes of you being able to recognize these aspects and overcome them that I designated this alternate exam; so that you will be better prepared for what lies ahead of you." And with pipe in hand, the man labeled as the Third Great Fire Shadow left the pairs in the classroom.

Naruto looked at his sparring opponent and thought. 'Is this guy really the son of the old man? Sure looks like it, but I don't think everything's out in the open here…' "So Asuma-sensei, what is your specialty?" he asked, heading to the door.

Asuma noticed this and followed suit. "Well I myself am actually…" he trailed off as the two of them followed the rest of the class.

Raven and Kakashi gave each other speculative glances as they left also. Kurenai nodded at Sakura who looked blankly at the others, and the two female nin left. Genma just went on his own to the dojo, senbon needle still in between his lips.

Hinata hesitated when she reached the door, taking a minute to look back at Daisuke and Ten-Ten. She knew they were both going out now, since things had been discussed on the way from their special training spot to the Academy an hour before hand. Though Hinata now had the same interaction with her crush as the two of them had, Hinata failed in her attempts to let the two of them know of her cousin's deep feelings. Normally she wouldn't bother, since she knew that it was none of her business, but Daisuke was her friend and she didn't want to see anything happen to him if Neji found out about the two of them.

Watching Hinata leave the room finally, Daisuke finally let out the breath he was holding. He looked around the room one last time and grabbed Ten-Ten's hand, guiding her to the door.

"So what is going on, you know?"

His question caught her slightly off guard, despite her having anticipated it since she had been informed of the situation.

* * *

_A man in a mild green spandex leotard with orange leg warmers, a monstrously large pair of eye brows and a haircut resembling the technique of someone putting a bowl on his head and trimming everything off under the edge approached Ten-Ten as she and Neji were sparring._

"_Ten-Ten, can you come here for a moment please?" he asked, flagging her over. She glanced at her opponent and got a small curt nod._

_Making her way to him, she sat down on the rock before her sensei to catch her breath from the rigorous workout with Neji. "Yes Gai-sensei? What's up?"_

_Taking a moment to compose himself after telling a miniature version of himself to go and spar with Neji in the meantime, he turned serious as he fixed his eyes onto his team's young kunoichi. "There is something that I need to discuss with you."_

"_What is that, Gai-sensei?" she asked, curious as to what could be so serious as to make him change so quickly. She had never seen anything happen quite that fast when it came to the attitude that her very energetic sensei kept up._

"_It's about the students from the Academy that had been involved with the incident concerning Mizuki and Neji's cousin Hinata."_

_Her ears perked. "Oooooooookay."_

"_As they were in the middle of the taijutsu part of the exams to determine who could become genin for this year, Mizuki had been ousted as a traitor to the village. When he tried to flee the scene of confrontation, he had kidnapped Hinata Hyuuga and another kunoichi in the class. Two other students had been ordered to follow him and do what they could in order to stall fo time as the ANBU and the Sandaime Hokage were gathering and planning. Another student followed in pursuit, hoping to be of some assistance to the cause."_

_Ten-Ten listened intensely as her sensei continued. "With all things said and done, the enemy nin and the traitor involved have all been punished, but the council has agreed to permit the students involved to take make-up versions of the last three portions of the exam. But the stipulation was that they had to face an aspect of taijutsu that they were known to have to get over as it symbolized a large obstacle in their path to becoming a shinobi amongst our ranks."_

_Curiosity poked her in the mouth, causing her to ask, "And what are you getting at sensei?"_

"_Oh my bright young kunoichi, I've been selected as one of the jonin instructors to test one of the students, but there are certain things that I must attend to during the time in which the exams are projected to take place, so I've been permitted to select one of my students to act as my proxy during the taijutsu portion."_

_Ten-Ten was obviously confused. She didn't know why Gai-sensei was telling her this at first. Her mind came to a halt when Gai pulled out a pair of cherry hardwood tonfa from his vest. _

"_Ten-Ten, I have selected for you to be my proxy."_

_She took the tonfa from her sensei's outstretched hand and immediately she knew who he meant. The wooden weapons clattered as they bounced off the rock she was sitting on and rested on the ground. _

"_You can't mean…"_

"_Yes, I have selected for you to train in these tonfa during the time between now and the exams. Your opponent has already been selected."_

'_No, I can't go against him…'_

"_Your opponent that you will be testing is-"_

"_No! I can't go up against him! Why can't Lee or Neji do it? There is no way I'll perform the test as the proxy if he is the one I'm to test!" she exclaimed, standing up on the rock._

_Gai closed his eyes and sighed. "There are several reasons why you, Ten-Ten, are going to be the one to test him. The first reason is that I'm being pulled into ANBU headquarters. Apparently, the Hokage has found out about my training regimen of you three and is none too happy with my secluding you and Neji from training as I focus too much on Lee."_

_Ten-Ten's eyes softened on hearing this. She knew that Lee was a special case, as he had no amount of chakra large enough to perform even simple substitutions and transformations, and he had not the mind for a genjutsu student. This only left him the option of taijutsu, which he had been terrible at until a few weeks after having passed the genin exam and then Gai-sensei's personal exam alongside his teammates. She thought nothing of it, despite wishing that her sensei would focus more on training them more as a whole, or at least work more with her and Neji. She never expected the Hokage to have a problem with the way the jonin instructors trained their genin students._

"_The next reason is that neither Lee nor Neji have the ability to challenge the abilities this student has with weapons like you can. His power with close quarters combat weapons is unrivaled in his class this year, and among the top students over the last four years."_

_She cast her gaze down at the tonfa before her, sitting there on the ground. Gai could sense the surge of emotions in his kunoichi, and could only help her with coming to terms of the test that was being hand to not only the person she would examine, but also for herself._

"…_Is there no one else, or no other way for him to be tested?"_

_Shaking his head. "I'm afraid there isn't. The only way the Hokage will allow for him to be a part of the make-up exam is to be tested in this manner."_

_Ten-ten clenched her fists. She knew a great deal about what the tonfa could do and how to wield them, but knowing the theory behind something and actually putting that theory into action were completely different. But she also knew that deep down, she would have no one else perform as the proxy, for she had been longing to go against this student for so very long but she just never could figure how to do it. She let out a loud sigh as she bent down and picked up the tonfa, head still down so as to not see her sensei's face._

"_All right, I'll perform the test as the proxy against Daisuke."_

* * *

Ten-Ten came back to reality as she noticed that the scenery had changed. She found herself being led by the hand from the classroom and they were now already seconds away from entering the dojo. They could hear the groans coming from inside as the two of them stopped, pausing to listen in.

"… you didn't have to be so brutal, you know?" came the whining of Naruto.

"But if I had held back then you wouldn't have learned anything, and you would have failed," came Asuma's response. Daisuke shook his head. 'He's not gonna make it very long as a ninja if he can't figure out what lies underneath the underneath…'

Ten-Ten saw him approach the door as she heard some more people scuffle to the mat in the room. She quickly grabbed Daisuke's arm before he came into the doorway and pulled him back to her.

He was surprised at her action, but was more surprised as he saw the look in her eyes. He could see that she knew what exactly was going on.

"Dai-kun…"

"Ten-chan, we don't have to go through with this." He stood before her and wrapped his arms around her. He knew that she had seen him practice since they had first met, and she was really not wanting to go against him in a sparring match in this way, even for him to graduate to being a genin.

Her head jerked up. "But if we don't, then you can't pass, and you won't be able to become a genin…"

Daisuke kissed her on the forehead. "You seem to have forgotten. What was it Sarutobi-san had told us when he and Iruka-sensei arrived when I awoke this morning?" he asked with a twinkle coming through the lens of his sunglasses.

Realization dawned her; she had completely forgotten about that.

'_Actually, I came here to tell you that because of your participation in the mission last week, that you, Raven, and Naruto will all be given the choice to be made genin as reward for such selflessness and determination.'_

"Are you sure you want to though? I mean, I don't know how the others will feel about it."

He smiled at her as he let her go and pulled her to the doorway with him. "Let me deal with that, okay Ten-chan?"

The two of them had just entered the dojo as the exam between Kakashi and Raven was announced as a draw. Raven eased her scythe away from Kakashi's throat as he lowered the kunai he held at the back of her knees. Both opponents left the mat as Kurenai and Sakura took their places, bowed and took their stances.

Daisuke slowly made his way to where the jonin that were there who didn't compete and the Hokage stood, and tugged slightly at the robe of the old man. Sarutobi leaned down to Daisuke and listened to what he was saying, took one look at the curt nod to his silent question, then gave him a smile and a nod in return.

Only a couple people noticed this inaudible exchange. Kommando and Amanda knew exactly what was going on, as they had figured that this would happen after learning of the circumstances of the make-up exams. The only other person that noticed this was a short blond with whisker marks on his cheeks, thinking deeply on what he had just witnessed out of the corner of his eye.

'What could those two have just agreed upon? I wonder…'

"**Don't worry about your friend and the old man Kit, it's not really any matter to work yourself up about I'm sure."** In truth, the dark voice in Naruto's mind knew full well what it was that had been first said to the Sandaime Hokage, but it wasn't about to enlighten its rather dense jailor. **'It'll just make him get himself worked up when it's announced.'**

The match between Kurenai and Sakura had obviously been one-sided, with Kurenai using simple body-related genjutsu. She made the young shinobi-to-be think that Kurenai was coming at her full force and Sakura went on the evasive offense, trying to get in between the illusionary punches. Everyone watched as Kurenai simply stood there as Sakura wore herself out after twenty minutes of solid dodging before she finally released her illusion and ran to Sakura and deftly knocked her back with a forearm to the chest.

To say that Sakura wasn't pleased with barely passing this exam segment was very clear, but she was surprised at the fact that her usual fanboy didn't try to console her about her predicament. 'Maybe he's just listening to what he was told for once?' **"Cha! That'll be the day! He's probably just wondering how much longer this is going to take so that he can go and get some damn ramen!"**

Genma and Hinata took the floor before everyone next. Hinata took the accustomed Gentle Fist stance as Genma simply stood there, taking the senbon out of his mouth and putting it away. After the signal was given, both stared at one another, until Hinata finally activated her kekkei genkai and rushed in. Genma had been expecting for this to happen, and went on his planned tactics.

He simply dodged her every attack and simply made her waste a large amount of her stamina. After fifteen minutes of this, Hinata made one last effort to land one hit on her opponent.

With a moment to gather herself, she lunged with her right palm to Genma's stomach. He dodged that, but he didn't notice the left palm that had been aimed for his lung. Just as the hit was going to land, Hinata paused her attack, arms and palms still in position.

Genma congratulated her on passing with high marks for realizing that attacking with one limb at a time just doesn't cut it sometimes. Genma took his place among the jonin as Hinata sat next to Naruto, obviously hiding her light blush as Naruto placed a hand discretely between the two of them. A look came across Sakura's face upon seeing this.

'There's no way…'

Everyone was brought to attention with the cough of the Hokage as he stepped into the center of the sparring mat. "As per the rules of the genin exam, Daisuke has opted to refrain from doing the make-up exam."

Gasps were heard from almost all the people in the dojo.

'So the lazy Westerner decided we were all telling the truth and that he nor any other person of the west deserves to be here huh?' Sasuke thought to himself, unable to hold back the large smirk that mysteriously appeared on his face.

"WHAT! You gotta be kidding Daisuke!" Naruto yelled, using the hand that Hinata had carefully placed hers on to point at Daisuke. "If you don't take the exam now, you'll have to wait even longer to become a real ninja!"

There were murmurs of agreement amongst the rest of the class until Sarutobi spoke up again.

"Let me continue."

Everyone quieted down once again as the Hokage returned to what he had started to say. "The reason that he has withdrawn from the make-up exam is because of an official order from the council regarding those that had assisted in the incident concerning one Mizuki last week."

"This official order, more like a reward of sorts, was made to Daisuke, Raven, and Naruto as a show of gratitude for their pivotal role in the capture of Mizuki and the safe retrieval of Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura."

Naruto and Sasuke were both fuming at this, but both had different reasons.

"Hey! Why wasn't I told about this huh? I would have much rather taken that proposal than get my ass handed to me by your son Old Man!" Naruto said as he pointed his finger to Asuma, who chuckled at that.

"Why should those three losers be given such special treatment? I'm trying to revive my clan and I don't get a free pass, that's lame! I want to be made a ninja right now since they're having it handed to them! It's only fair!" yelled Sasuke, irate at the announcement.

Sakura chimed in with her two cents, following in Sasuke's lead. "How can the council be so gracious to outsiders and that dead-last when one of our most prized clans is on the brink of dying out? Sasuke should be given the choice too!"

"You all are just too troublesome sometimes," came Shikamaru's lazy counter. "Just because Sasuke is the last Uchiha that's loyal to the village doesn't mean he actually is the last Uchiha overall."

Sakura glared daggers at the lazy boy who was laying on his back on the mats, accompanied by the majority of the other fangirls in the room.

"Yeah, and besides, we all saw how Sasuke just stood there and stared blankly at the window after Naruto and the others chased down that traitor," Choji said, throwing his fresh bag of chips down on the floor. This shook everyone to the core: the Akimichi never wasted or otherwise refused to eat food; so seeing the young boy who they grew up around and knew as a chronic garbage disposal throw perfectly good food away after just having opened it was a very bad and disturbing thing to witness.

Sasuke was about to retort when the Hokage put an end to it all. "Enough."

Everyone returned their attention to the Hokage immediately. Shikamaru sat up at this, and Choji sat back down. He tentatively picked up the bag of potato chips and looked at it in his hands but waited for something to happen before he would think of eating again.

"While it is true that Sasuke is the last loyal Uchiha, it is also true that he did nothing in regards to the incident last week. As Naruto had no obligation whatsoever to follow his friends out the window and disregard his own life for the lives of those close to him, he was supposed to have been awarded the same offer." Turning to face Kakashi, he continued. "Apparently the council's order had been put into the wrong hands, thus preventing Naruto from being given the choice."

"But I can still make the decision now, can't I Old Man?"

Shaking his head as he faced the students again. "No Naruto, the council may have given you the offer but the stipulation was that you had to have accepted before commencing with the taijutsu exam. You will now have to perform the genjutsu and ninjutsu exams in order to pass, or you will be held back a year."

Face-faulting, Naruto nodded his head in silent agreement. 'Damn it all to hell!'

'I know you can do this Naruto-kun, you've already made it this far.' Hinata made her hand move back on top of Naruto's and gave it a slight squeeze. He turned and gave her a small smile, making sure to let no one else see the exchange.

"Now then, will Naruto, Sakura, Hinata and Raven come forward to perform the last two parts of the graduation exam?" Iruka said, indicating for them to stand before the Hokage.

Each of the four students stood up and made their way to the center of the mat, disregarding the various stares two of them received and the hopeful looks the other two got.

"For this year's genjutsu final, each of you must perform a functional transformation and substitution jutsu. You may use anything for the substitution, but you must transform into someone within this room. You may perform your jutsus when you're ready."

Sakura stepped forward, not noticing the looks that Hinata and Naruto exchanged and started whispering to each other. Only a few select people noticed this but put it off as Sakura performed her jutsus. She transformed herself into a replica of Kurenai, and swapped places with Asuma, thus putting the real Kurenai next to the duplicate. They looked at each other, Sakura making sure to try and mirror the jonin's movements as best as she could. Then 'Kurenai' formed hand signs, and there were now three more 'Kurenai' standing around the original, all sheepishly grinning.

"Very good Sakura. I now present you with your hitai-ite," Sarutobi said as he held out his hand with the headband that bore a metal plate with the village's symbol engraved on it.

Naruto whispered one last time into Hinata's ear, "Are you sure you can do it? I don't want to push you into this if you really don't think you can, Hinata-chan."

She blushed at this but still nodded her head. 'I'm very sure Naruto-kun, now that I've found you and I are together.'

Before Raven had a chance to step forward, eyes all across the room widened a tad when they saw Naruto and Hinata move to stand in the middle of the mat, hand in hand.

"For a special treat for you all, we will be performing our genjutsu exams as a team!" Naruto said as he turned around and showed off his foxy grin.

"Yes, Na-Naruto-kun and I will be doing this, together," the pale-eyed girl said with new-found confidence.

Iruka just nodded, wondering when this sudden change in their behaviors had occured.

Everyone watched in awe as they stepped to opposing sides of the mat, turned, and performed the hand signs for the transformation jutsu at the same time. Most everyone was surprised to see Hinata had transformed herself into a perfect replica of Naruto, even down to the whisker marks on his cheeks. The same almost could be said for Naruto's replication of Hinata's appearance, except he had forgotten to hide his whisker marks.

Without skipping a beat, they moved through the hand signs and performed the substitution, swapping places with one another and releasing the transformation on each other, showing they had successfully done it.

Hinata then stepped forward to the middle, and made three clones appear before her, all in a row. She turned to Naruto, biting her lip in anticipation. 'I know you can do this Naruto-kun, just believe in your own power...'

"Hn." Sasuke grinned openly as he intently watched Naruto start to slowly form the hand signs for the clone jutsu. 'This is where you fall from that high dream of yours, loser. You can't get out of the Academy if you can't even make a proper clone, let alone three of them in succession.'

Everyone stared in awe as he formed the last sign with his fingers crossing, calling out the jutsu. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In a large cloud of smoke came a score of Naruto clones, each wearing a big trademark 'foxy' grin just as the original started to organize the clones. Within moments, there was a group of ten clones in one group, standing hunched over while the other ten clones stood on their shoulders.

Naruto motioned to Hinata's clones, and those too got onto the shoulders of the second group's shoulders, effectively making a large structure out of just clones. All eyes were on the pair as they climbed and sat down on the second layer of clones, as Hinata's three clones posed behind them for the rest of the group before them. They both gave off big grins as they held hands in front of everybody, causing a lot of murmurs to spread, and one loud dog-boy to start muttering something about 'stupid fox-boys stealing his girl'.

"Congratulations you two, and very nice job on that simultaneous jutsu performance," Iruka said, writing down their grades. The Hokage held out their hitai-ites, which soon disappeared. Naruto took the one he had grabbed and tied it loosely around Hinata's neck, while she took the one in her hands and tied it snugly around his forehead.

As they sat back to where they had been after the taijutsu exams, Raven finally stepped forward to finish her exam.

"Raven, you may begin at any time."

Raven nodded as she concentrated and formed the hand signs for the transformation. She was enveloped in a poof of smoke, and then a poof was heard from within that smoke and Kakashi was revealed as the smoke cleared, just without his pants or mask pulled up. When everyone laughed, 'Kakashi' stepped forward and shook his head.

"Nice trick Raven, now give me back my belt and my... 'book' please," Kakashi said, immediately pulling his pants up.

Chuckling, Raven then performed her clone jutsu, resulting in there now being four more 'Kakashis' in the room. Before the real Kakashi had a chance to grab his things, Raven and her clones all switched places in a blur. Once the blur settled into a straight line, you wouldn't be able to tell the real one from the clones.

Dropping his head, he held out a hand. "Please?"

She dispelled the clones and the transformation at once, grinning as she handed back the possession to Kakashi, who stormed away as he mumbled something inaudible through his mask.

"Nice job Raven, and very nice touch with swiping his belt and erotica." Raven stepped forward to the Hokage, but didn't see a hitai-ite in his hands.

"I'm sorry Raven, but I don't have a hitai-ite for you, or for Daisuke either," Sarutobi said, putting his pipe into his mouth.

Shocked, whispers spread around the room. Until a group of four people entered the room through the open dojo door.

"They may not have hitai-ites for the two of you, but I sure do have a couple for you," said one of the people, who was not much taller than the Hokage himself.


	8. Formng the Bloody Threads p2

Disclaimer:

Preface. Read it. Now. I do own Raven and Daisuke, while I have yet to decide whether I should try and get Chaos to give me joint custody of his characters (shifts eyes back and forth) nah, I'll try that another time.

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Notes: Well come on down folks, to the 'Fanfic Chapter Breeding Farm'! Today we bring you the next installment of the day for 'Beyond the darkness of Fate'. Last we saw our heroes, they had just passed the make-up genin exams. Well, all but Daisuke who decided to opt out just so he wouldn't have to face Ten-Ten. Just as Raven and Daisuke were about to head off in disappointment, there were four people seen entering the dojo. Who are they, where did they come from, and what do they want? Let's find out!

And one last thing: I hope you guys enjoy the fact that I've finally gotten through the graduation exam. This chapter will be the one that I finally decide who is on which team and which jonin are going to be leading each team. So enjoy!

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"They may not have hitai-ites for the two of you, but I sure do have a couple for you," said one of the people, who was not much taller than the Hokage himself.

Everyone turned to the doorway to see a group of four people entering the dojo. Two were immediately recognized as Amanda and Kommando, while the two between them walked forward and presented themselves to the old Hokage.

"Yamikage-sama…" whispered four fresh genin, upon seeing the black ponytail and blue eyes of Jack Socrie.

The strong embodiment of the Village Hidden in the Darkness turned to Daisuke and Raven, who had come to stand a few feet from Sarutobi. Smiling, he spoke. "It's good to see both of you again. I see that the time you have spent here in Konohagakure hasn't been wasted one bit."

Kommando laughed at this as Amanda fiddled with her braids.

The other genin in the room aside from Choji and Shikamaru looked on as the two outsiders they had learned alongside of were talking and acting like good friends with who they found to be the most powerful ninja in all of Ankokugakure. It threw many of them for a loop, while the jonin in the room stared on as the situation got serious again.

"What are you doing here Jack?" Daisuke asked, curious as to why the leader of Ankoku was away from the village.

"C'mon Daisuke, isn't it obvious? I'm here to present the two newest additions to the Village Hidden in the Darkness with their hitai-ites!" With that, the fourth person, a man with white hair and pale brown eyes stepped forward, holding out a headband to each of the new Darkness genin.

Each hitai-ite was a black cloth with metal plating that bore the symbol of Ankokugakure: a large circle that had two lines crossing through it. The lines intersected at the center, and left the circle at two, five, seven and ten as if it were a clock face. The ends of the lines from near six would curve up to meet the ends of the lines form beside twelve.

Raven picked up hers and handed her scythe to Daisuke. She then took the two ends of the cloth and put them behind her waist and tied her hitai-ite around the waist of her dress, as a kind of obi.

Handing back her scythe, Daisuke thought for a moment. 'Can't put this thing around my forehead like most the guys do, it'll interfere with my sunglasses…'

He stood there for a minute before he was surprised. Ten-Ten came up beside him and took it from his hand, and took out a kunai and some metal rings from her pockets.

"Close your eyes Daisuke." Without asking why, he complied, knowing she had a good idea in mind or else she wouldn't be doing it in the first place.

She grabbed his trench vest and pulled him forward slightly. She took the kunai and measured about the middle of his chest, just below the middle of the sternum and an inch above the bottom of his ribcage and proceeded to poke two holes across from each other on the fly of his leather long-vest. She then motioned for the Hokage and whispered in his ear.

"Alright, I see what you are trying to do. Just give me a moment," he said, and handed his pipe to the white-haired man as he removed the formal Hokage hat. He formed a hand sign and blew out a small stream of fire as Ten-Ten put up the rings she had dug out in position over the holes she had made with the kunai.

After she was satisfied that the metal had been securely fused with the material of Daisuke's attire, she put the kunai away and proceeded to feed the ends of the black cloth through the rings. When she was done, the metal plate of the Ankoku hitai-ite was sitting in plain view at just in front of his solar plexus.

Carefully leaning forward, Ten-Ten gave Daisuke a small peck on the cheek to let him know she was done. Jack and the other man silently raised an eyebrow at seeing this, having known that Daisuke had never pursued a relationship back in the village, and were now wondering what could have caused him to suddenly have changed his mind so suddenly.

He looked down as he opened his eyes, but he noticed that she had produced a small rectangular mirror from a pouch and held it up for him to see his full reflection. "I like it, that's a damn good job you and Hokage-sama did with this. Thank you Ten-chan."

Jaws fell to the floor from a good majority of people in the room as Daisuke leaned over and kissed her full on the lips swiftly, before pulling her into a hug. The only people that hadn't had to adjust their jaw bones were those that had been there earlier at the training ground and a couple of the jonin in the back.

"I would like to now present all the other graduating genin with their official Leaf Village hitai-ites. So if you would all please stand up and form a line, you will be called forward and the Hokage will present you," stated Iruka. Everyone but those with theirs already formed a line and waited patiently.

Naruto and Hinata came up and stood beside Raven and Daisuke who had Ten-Ten behind him with her arms wrapped gently around his shoulders. Her head rested slightly against his, both watching the procession of graduation before them. Sakura glared at the five of them from her new spot slightly behind Sasuke.

To say that the emo-prince was pissed did nothing to convey that he had been insulted. 'Damn Westerners, their kind belongs back over on their side of the mountains. Them and their barbaric ways are going to destroy us all!'

Jack took a side long glance at the two pairs of people to his left. 'I wonder how all his fangirls will deal with this when they hear about it?' he thought with a smile.

It didn't take long for the entire line of students to be proudly wearing their headbands in one fashion or another, proud they had proven their worth after so much hard work and sweat.

"Now, before we dismiss you for the last time as Academy students, I have here the list of teams that are going to be formed from this group. Now, each team will consist of one jonin instructor, and three genin students. Some teams are going to be focused on a specific operation: one being a solitary unit, with each person possessing a specific specialty for the team, while other teams are made up of individuals that are all of the same type, such as a hard-acting taijutsu combat group or a tracking team, or a strategist and genjutsu applications unit. The instructors are chosen based on the crop of students' talents and weighed against available genin, and from there the jonin will decide what it is you learn and at what pace you learn it at," said Iruka, pulling out another sheet of paper from his pocket.

"Now, please settle down as I read off the teams and their members. First up with be team seven, led by Hatake Kakashi. His students will be Uchiha Sasuke, Raven Straussburg, and Aburame Shino. Team eight will be led by Yuhi Kurenai, and will consist of Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Akimichi Choji. Team nine is sill running under Might Gai as of-" was all he could say before the Hokage cut him off.

"Due to circumstances, those genin that were previously under the instruction and direction of Might Gai as Team nine, it has been decided, will be reassigned to new teams with this year's genin graduates." Everyone that had heard of the legendary Green Beast and his small clone were amazed at what it was they had just been told.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, can you expound on that please?" asked a curious Sakura, still standing behind Sasuke, unknowingly switching from looking at those before her and down at Sasuke's ass.

"As of right now, no information is available for discussion concerning the situation with this team. Any information will only be discussed by those directly affiliated with the members of that team and myself."

Scratching his head, Iruka turned to Sarutobi. "Then what am I supposed to do? I already had the teams all figured out, Hokage-sama."

Gesturing to the paper, the old man in formal robes took out a pen and looked the paper over fo a moment. "The following changes will be made to the aforementioned two genin teams. Team seven will have Uchiha Sasuke replaced with Rock Lee from Team nine. Team eight-"

"Lord Hokage, with all due respect, there is a reason as to why I am the only available jonin capable of training Sasuke," spoke up Kakashi, not bothering to look up from his orange-covered book. "He will only be able to reach his full potential if I am his jonin instructor."

"The matter is not up for discussion Kakashi. You seem to have forgotten your place amongst the ranks." Hearing the harsh tone used against him, he looked up with a wide eye. "You shall report to my office after these assignments are finished."

Returning his attention back to the rest of the team changes, Sarutobi sighed inwardly as he made the notes. "Again, Team seven will have Hatake Kakashi leading Rock Lee, Raven Straussburg, and Aburame Shino. Team eight, led by Yuhi Kurenai, will be Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Neji. Team nine will still remain under Might Gai if and when he returns to being a jonin instructor but with a fresh squad of students from the next graduating class." This announcement sent shivers down the backs of some of the jonin.

"Team Ten will be led by Sarutobi Asuma, with Hyuuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, and Uzumaki Naruto." Both the blond and the raven haired shinobi blushed as they latched hands together. "Team eleven will be led by Shiranui Genma, with Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, and Uchiha Sasuke." This earned several death glares from the rest of the Sasuke fan club at the Hokage, but were merely dismissed as childish behavior that would hopefully wear off soon.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but what about Ten-chan and myself?" Daisuke asked, his hand tucked into his pocket and gripping the handle of his tonfa. He was sensing something dangerous coming his way but unable to identify it clearly. 'Something's coming, and it seems kinda creepy...'

"There is a problem with there being one too few genin this year, but this merely works out in the end as allowing me to form a specialized unit with the two of you and your instructor-"

Before another word came from the old man in formal attire, there was a loud crash as a woman in trench coat, short mini skirt and a fishnet shirt lunged past the startled students and almost landed a kunai to Daisuke's throat. Her attempt had been thwarted as her kunai met interference from the edged tonfa he had been gripping discretely.

"Heh, you've got good reflexes kid. I like you already," said the woman, her short purple hair swaying as she stood up and put the kunai away.

"Anko, you have got just some of the **worst** timing ever…" came the exasperated welcome from Sarutobi to the hasty jonin.

"Don't tell me this psycho is our new sensei!?" Ten-Ten said, pointing a finger at the newcomer.

"Hey, pay some respect to the woman that's gonna carry your ass from here to the top, you little maggot." Anko folded her arms in front of her chest and looked at the two shinobi in front of her. 'Hm, the guy looks like he knows how to wield that thing. And I know for a fact that this little girl can handle herself in armed combat.' Smirking, she looked both of them in the eyes.

Ten-Ten was unnerved by how her 'sensei' was looking between her and Daisuke. Rumors were abound in plentiful about the woman, and none of them were flattering in purveying the image she had gotten from the villagers. 'I just hope to Kami that she just doesn't do that licking thing…'

Coughing, the Hokage brought the attention of everyone back to the main focus. "I would like to present Mitarashi Anko, Special Jonin. She will be your sensei as of now, and your team identification is Team Thirteen."

Striking a pose with her kunai hand out in front of her and fingers forming a victory sign, she had a huge smirk on her face as she winked at her students. "That's right, I'm Anko, but that's Anko-_sensei_ to the two of you from now on, you got that runts?"

Daisuke put away the tonfa as he let out a loud sigh. "Great, first Amanda-sensei was my tutor, then I learned from Kommando for a bit, we traveled across the Ygotsui mountains and I got something of a normal education experience and here I am, apparently suffering for having done something wrong and end up getting put under the Konohagakure equivalent of Amanda-sensei…"

The next thing Daisuke knew he was on his back on the mat, with Anko's foot pressing down on his throat. "Lesson one, never let your guard down. Lesson two, respect your elders, maggot." She stood like that, making Daisuke flail his arms as a sign for his attempts at getting air to rush back into his lungs. Before he was about to pass out, Anko released her foot and held out her hand to the boy before her.

Not having heard many of the rumors about his new 'sensei', Daisuke gladly took the offered help from Anko. When they grasped hands, he was surprised when he felt her put a death-grip on his hand and watched as something slithered swiftly out of her trench coat sleeve. It lunged to his face, aimed for his sunglasses. As the snake came forward,it abruptly stopped an inch from his face. He looked on in quiet but hardly maintained composure as he saw the snake open its jaws wide and slip its fangs behind the top of his sunglasses, and could feel it try to tug them away.

"Lesson three, I must be able to see your eyes at all times. So therefore, during training and certain missions, you won't be allowed to wear these things, got it?" Anko smirked. Her confidence slipped as she tried to recall the snake with the mirrored sunglasses in its jaws but felt the defiance from them strengthen their hold on her student's face. "I said to take them off, gaki!"

It was Daisuke's turn to smirk now. "Sorry Anko_-sensei_, but my sunglasses are infused with my chakra. You'd have to almost knock me unconscious or force me to deplete almost all of my chakra in order for you to take them off by yourself."

Kommando watched with a huge grin on his face, failing to hide it at all. Anko noticed this and turned to the older boy dressed in white. "You seem to be enjoying this, you older gaki. I take it that you were the one who taught him that trick?"

"Yes I did, not just because it also protects against most genjutsu, but also because people that rely on a dojutsu to infiltrate the minds of their opponent cannot pierce through the sheer amount of chakra that he has put into them." Stepping forward, he stood next to Daisuke so that everyone could clearly see his next point. "Besides, what are cousins for, if not to pass on family secrets?"

Before the antics of the new thirteenth team and the foreign officials could take any longer, Sarutobi got the attention of the room by producing a shadow clone of himself and both of them coughed as they continued in unison.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's finish this up so that each team can perform their initial tasks before tomoorow." Both Hokages looked the crowd over, showing his seriousness. "From this point on, all of you that wear the hitai-ite of your village are officially shinobi, you now are responsible for your own actions. Though you may still live with family, it is possible for you to prove your independence and try to move out, though it is not recommended as doing missions as a genin will not pay nearly enough to cover any important bills you may incur living on your own."

"Other privileges that you now receive are that you can now enter any store within the village of Konohagakure without restraint. You may drink alcohol but only within a public establishment and your intake is at the discretion of the manager or other employees of said establishment until you have achieved the rank of jonin or become the age of majority here, which is eighteen."

"With these new privileges as a shinobi come great responsibility however," he said, putting even more serious tones into his voice as he continued the speech. "As a ninja amongst the ranks of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, you are now subject completely to the instructions given to you by your sensei and myself, and during times of war, other outranking ninja without question. You are here to serve your village, not to pursue personal fantasies or use your status as a shinobi to exact personal vendettas against anyone that has not publicly wronged you. We also follow the rule of 'an eye for an eye', so if you are injured or you injure someone, punishment will be dealt with in the same fashion as the grievance, but the instigator shall receive further punishment from the ANBU."

"As you continue on your careers as ninja here and wherever your path takes you, remember what you have learned from all these fine instructors. They have done their best to teach you as they were taught, and as their teachers before them were. You represent not just yourselves, but your village, your Hokage, and most of all your feudal lord while wearing your hitai-ite. You are protectors, the lines of defense against those that stand to cause us harm. You shall protect us, live to pass on the legacy of the shinobi and make the soul of this village continue on despite any hardship it may endure." And with that, the shadow clone disappeared into a poof of smoke as it had first appeared.

Iruka stood next to the Hokage as he performed his last duties. "It is my duty to now officially congratulate all of you standing before us today on completing your studies in the Academy of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. You will now be meeting with your jonin instructors and getting to know each other a bit more before too long."

Naruto came up to Daisuke and Ten-Ten with Hinata in tow, a steady blush still on her cheeks at the continued contact. "Congratulations you two! It's great to know that you didn't get left out, though I'm feelin' for ya with having to put up with Crazy-Lady Anko as your sensei."

Naruto soon found himself being chased around the school by a giant snake as Anko screamed at him to mind his manners around 'crazy ladies that can snap him like a twig'.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he left the dojo, hands in his pockets while trying to figure out why everything seemed to be handed out like candy to everyone else while he would train himself near to death and end up with very little recognition. Sakura immediately followed Sasuke, despite the glares the other fangirls in the room threw at her.

Choji finally started eating the bag of chips he had previously thrown down, relaxed and calmed down from the outbursts that made him mad during the make-up exams. "Man, that snobbish prick sure doesn't know when to shut the hell up the few times he actually does talk."

"It's just too troublesome to pay much attention to him Choji," replied Shikamaru as he sat down and leaned back against a wall. Just as he was about to lean his head back and close his eyes, Naruto jumped through the window and hid below the sill. His head was inches below the window, and he shook as the snake that had been chasing him around flew past.

"Whew, seems I lost it for now." He saw Hinata come to him and he motioned for her to stay quiet but still come to him. "I think we should grab Asuma-sensei and get the hell outta here guys, that crazy snake lady is out to get me now."

Sighing, the laziest genin to have graduated the Academy in two decades got off the floor and followed suit as Naruto signaled for their sensei and the new team ten left, thankfully leaving behind one purple-haired special jonin.

As Anko soon realized her prey had vanished from the Academy, she dismissed the summoned snake and proceeded to grab her students. "C'mon maggots, it's time for us to 'get to know one another', before I put you through the ringer to see if you're even worth my time and effort to train."

The Darkness genin and weapons mistress were about to protest when they suddenly disappeared into the air through a cloud of leaves, leaving the three other teams and their instructors with the officials from Ankokugakure and the Hokage in the dojo.

"Well Hokage-sama, I best be off to finalize these team documents before the next council meeting. I will see you later," Iruka said, bowing to the old man as he made his way out the door, with the papers and grades in hand.

Shino walked up to Raven and wordlessly nodded to her. Before either of them could say anything, Kakashi came up to them and said, "Okay you two, I need for you to get Rock Lee from wherever it is that he's at right now, and meet me at the memorial stone training ground, the one with the three log posts in the middle, in two hours."

Just as Raven was about to speak, their jonin sensei walked up the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, may we talk?" he said in the same tone of voice he always spoke in, but his uncovered eye betrayed the agitation at the broken agreement that stood for him to be the jonin to instruct Sasuke.

Hesitating, Sarutobi inwardly sighed. "I will speak to you tomorrow about your 'concerns' Kakashi, after you have performed the test of your squad."

"But sir-"

"There will be no discussion at this time, Hatake. I am Hokage, and as your Hokage, it is my order that you fairly test and train them. To that end, I will be assigning a supervising shinobi to observe your test tomorrow of these students. If the report I receive afterwards is not satisfactory, then we will not talk about your 'concern', but about your career as a ninja."

This made the one visible eye go wide in hearing that he had to put up, shut up, and be patient for twenty four hours. That and the fact that his whole life as a ninja was hanging in the balance rocked his being to the core. In defeat, Kakashi disappeared amongst whirling leaves.

Genma approached his remaining two students in the room, taking out his trademark senbon toothpick. "Alright, I need for the two of you to locate Sasuke and inform him that we will be meeting at the top of the Shodaime's head on the Hokage mountain tomorrow morning for our first function as a team. Do what you want until then, just make sure to keep out of trouble and keep it low profile." Genma left his students wondering what was going on but decided against it.

'I still can't believe I got put on the same team as Sasuke-kun! Time to show the rest of those damn fangirls that I'm the only one for him!' she thought to herself, mentally striking a pose similar to Anko's introductory pose, switching out the winks for heart-shaped eyes.

Choji just sighed as he pulled a box of chocolate chip cookies from nowhere and munched quietly, leaving his blond teammate to herself, wanting to inform Sasuke of the meeting the next day. 'Afterwards, I gotta show Mom and Dad that I actually did it. I hope they take me out for barbecue tonight as a congratulations!'

With the rest of the Leaf jonin having disappeared while the teams conferred with their leaders, it was now empty in the dojo minus the four shinobi from Ankoku and the Sandaime Hokage.

"Sarutobi, we need to discuss some delicate matters somewhere more secure than this." Jack's words carried a tint of emergency to the older man. He nodded without saying a word, and ten minutes later the entire group found themselves standing in the Hokage's office.

Looking to the man standing behind him, "Carlos, could you give me the papers I need to give Sarutobi?" Nodding, the man with various scars on his face reached into a pocket in the lining of his standard issue jonin trench coat and retrieved a file with several papers inside, handing it to the Yamikage.

"Before we discuss these papers," he started, "we need to do some extermination of pests."

Catching the drift within the words, Kommando performed several hand signs and soon a noticeable change in the sound of the room occurred.

"I see that your youngest colleague knows quite the powerful sound barrier. If only there were more people in his generation as skilled as that," Sarutobi admitted, placing himself in his seat. "So what is it that brings the Yamikage of Ankokugakure all the way to Konohagakure?"

Handing the files over to Sarutobi, Jack waited before he spoke. "As you can see, our extensive network of contacts on this side of the Ygotsui has discovered a few menacing facts. First off is the leader of Oto. We had been expecting this, but that did nothing to ease that we had been correct."

"Honestly, I'm not surprised at this information either. But to have confirmation that Orochimaru, my own student, has become the leader of his own village. So, then I take it that more of this is concerning the activities his faction is performing?" He had to ask, though he knew the answer already.

"Yes, one of our operatives was able to get into Otogakure and climb the ladder to become one of his personal bodyguards," Carlos said, his voice raspy. His throat twitched as he talked, due to the scar that crossed just under his chin. "We don't get information all that often, but when we do, it comes in multitudes. Reports on patrol changes, the patterns in which system run, details on some of the most hideous experiments going on in Oto, and his recruitment efforts for his experiments."

Sarutobi closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Long had he figured that his former student would continue his heinous experiments on his fellow human being. Those hideous projects of his had been the very reason why Sarutobi had passed him over years ago when he retired the first time.

As Orochimaru had initially been exposed, Sarutobi had committed his greatest moment of weakness when he confronted his former student. Orochimaru had used his sensei's fondness for him to his advantage, and fled the scene.

"So what other news do you have for me?"

"On the third paper there, you'll find something interesting about Oto and Suna," Jack said. Sarutobi noticed a hint of urgency in this indication.

"You can't be serious."

Closing his eyes, the Yamikage sighed. "Yes. Our informant had handed us those papers right before our departure from Hidden Darkness, and our network has confirmed activities between both Oto and Suna to the ends stated on that page."

"But Konoha and Suna have been allies for over thirty years, despite the lack of major trades between us!" Sarutobi was furious, he could not believe the papers that were sitting in his hands.

"Do not doubt our network, Sarutobi-sama," Amanda glared, casting aside her normal guise as a silent official. "If we had not given you the information over twelve years ago, then this entire village would have been nothing but mere dust at this time." Her eyes seemed to glow as she caused the air around her to darken slightly.

"But to think that Oto would secretly form an alliance with Suna and plan to attack us during the final part of the chunin exams that are going to be occurring in three months is a little extreme!"

Jack put up a hand to the three behind him, knowing full well what would happen if he didn't stop them. He sighed and looked the Hokage directly in the eyes. "Take this information as you may, Sandaime Hokage. But keep in mind everything we've given you. We are freely sharing our intelligence with you without the hopes of seeing a return of favor. All we truly ask is that you keep an open mind." With that said, Kommando released the sound barrier on the office and the shinobi officials from Ankokugakure left the presence of Sarutobi in puffs of dark mist.

Sarutobi closed his eyes as he tossed the papers onto his desk. 'To think that my old student would go so far just because I didn't choose him to succeed me as the Yondaime Hokage."

He decided to leave early, and maybe get some time in with his grandson Konohamaru. He was picking up the papers as he noticed the last one at the bottom. Curiously he picked it up, glanced at it and the paper fell from his grasp as he saw one name in particular. Itachi Uchiha.

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Sorry about not getting this out like I said I would, but I got caught up in talking with my mom learning more about the history of our family. So by the time I got back to my room, I lost most of the time I had planned to use for finishing up this chapter.

Oh well, now to get to work on the next one! Ja ne!


	9. Shy, Brash, & Lazy Threads

Disclaimer.

It's in the Preface. I own Daisuke and Raven. Chaos is the mastermind behind Jack/Amanda/Kommando/Carlos.

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Notes: Well well well, I've finally managed to get my ass in gear and get through the exams and past the naming of the teams. Now I know you Sasuke lovers are screaming for my blood, at this point, but go suck a toad. The emo-prince can die in a fire for all I care. Thinks of seeing Sasuke having his own fireball jutsu reflected back at him and getting turned into a pile of ash with glaring Sharingan eyes on top Muahahahahhaa.

Now I know that some of you are also probably going 'Where is the Naruto/Hinata fluffiness dammit!', and believe me, there is going to be more of that. Sorry about focusing more on Daisuke and Ten-Ten, but it was pivotal to get their relationship out of the way before I focused more on Naruto's team. Though the people are different doesn't mean that the plot will... much.

Now you all are probably wondering how I have somehow managed to put out 8 chapters and amassed over 35k words in less than a week. My answer is: I have no life! I was especially bored last week after getting back from the gym on Friday, so I decided to see if I could put out more than two chapters in a single day. Lo and behold, I shoved three down the throat of the file uploading system that amounted to nearly 13k words alone in twenty four hours. And my grey matter still has many, many ideas to put forth!

And now, for today's addition to 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 8!

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Asuma sat on the boulder with a lit cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth as he listened to the wind. 'I wonder how much longer it's gonna take those three to move?' he wondered, still not seeing any indication as to what his three new students were doing.

Hinata stood behind a tree, using her Byakugan to locate her teammates. She found Naruto not far from her, giving orders to a few clones. Shikamaru was in the other direction, following the plan and just laying up in a branch, staring at the clouds.

Naruto finished giving out the directions to his clones as he heard a light step behind him. He turned after performing the arranged transformations on his clones and found it was Hinata. She held up a finger to her lips, and Naruto nodded. She made a few hand signs and whispered, "Concealment jutsu."

If anyone had been looking directly at the two, they would have seen them sitting in front of each other one second and then disappear instantly after the jutsu was called out. Shikamaru had noticed though, but only because he had learned to notice the alteration of the wavelength patterns in his surroundings.

'Man, although those two years in Ankokugakure were somewhat troublesome, it was a lot easier to learn there than here. I even learned something about how to manipulate the Shadow Possession jutsu from my distant cousins.'

* * *

Asuma looked at the clock beside him, noting that they only had fifteen minutes before the timer went off. Getting up from the boulder, he looked around the forested mountain, trying to find signs of his students. "I hope they aren't just sitting around or something. Knowing Shikamaru, I'll probably find him sitting around somewhere with his head in the clouds." With that said, he leapt off the boulder and landed running into the treeline, not noticing the clones that discretely chased after him. 

* * *

Shikamaru felt the first set of shadow traps he had laid just outside the area where they had started the test being set off by Asuma's chakra signature. 'Troublesome, and I was about to fall asleep too. I just hope that Naruto's clones can do the trick.'

Sitting up, Shikamaru noticed that the genjutsu Hinata had used to hide her and Naruto was still in the same place as it had been. What he didn't see was what was happening underneath that concealing genjutsu between his two teammates.

* * *

Hinata was sitting herself down into Naruto's lap as he sat back against a tree, taking in the feel of his body. 'My Naruto-kun, I can't believe we're together finally…' Giving out a contented sigh, she closed her lavender eyes as she snuggled up to him. His scent wafted into her nose as Naruto started to rub her back using his right hand, his left intertwining its fingers with Hinata's right hand.

In a soft whisper, Naruto asked, "Hinata?"

"Hm?" she replied, not daring to open her eyes, lest it be a cruel genjutsu. Despite it all, she still felt that it could be pulled out from under her at any time and so she reveled in it as much as she could until she knew for sure whether or not this was truly happening.

Naruto hesitated, not knowing how to put his thoughts into the words he felt would do the matter justice.

"Hinata… how long have you… liked me?" he asked, not quite sure if he wanted to ask the question at the given time.

Her eyes shot open, not having expected this from Naruto. 'Oh Naruto-kun…' She blushed furiously and buried her face into his armpit.

Naruto looked away, not interpreting Hinata's actions correctly. He was about to change the subject when Hinata pulled her face from his armpit slightly and said something, only to have it muffled by his jumpsuit.

"What was that, I could barely hear the muffled sound of your voice," he whispered to her. He leaned down to her as he saw her signaled him to lean down.

"I've **loved** you since the first day at the Academy, all those years ago," she said. What Naruto didn't expect was what she did next. Before he moved his head back up to sit against the tree trunk again, she held onto his collar firmly and timidly leaned her head to Naruto's.

He could hear her breathing into his ear as she gently kissed his earlobe, and felt a big blush hit his cheeks full force when she lightly bit his ear. He shivered at her boldness, causing him to wrap both his arm around her.

Had Hinata been putting all her effort into not fainting from the constant contact with him, Naruto's sudden changing of her position would have made her emit a very audible "eep", which would have given their position away immediately to the jonin sensei they were mere feet from having step on them.

* * *

Asuma thought he had heard something to his right, but found nothing as he looked over at a tree fifteen feet out. Shaking his head, he noticed several nuts flying at him from three different directions. Pulling out his trench knives, he sliced each nut in halves, keeping his weapons at the ready.

Instead of nuts, there now came branches no thicker than that of his fingers. The directions they had come from were different but were still only three in number. He cut through those as well, despite that there had been many more of them than there had been nuts.

"C'mon kids, if you're going to pass, which you only have five more minutes to do by the way, you need to go all out in this," Asuma said, trying to use what he heard was one of Naruto's greatest weaknesses against him: being criticized for his tactics.

But instead of the expected outburst from a loudmouth blond prankster the jonin was rewarded with several large trees being launched at him now. 'Impossible, how could there be this many trees coming from nine directions?' he thought to himself, lifting his knives up to slice through the logs.

Rather, he tried to lift his arms to raise the knives. Asuma tried as he might, but none of his muscles were responding to his mind. He had no time to do anything when he noticed a large portion of his shadow distort and rise up from the ground.

"Shadow Animation jutsu, rank one."

Asuma's eyes widened upon hearing Shikamaru's voice lazily announce his presence. Before he could do anything else, the trees all connected with his chest, effectively knocking him backwards and off his feet.

Shikamaru leapt from the tree branch after dismissing the jutsu and landed near the body of their sensei. Looking towards the tree fifteen feet away, he noticed that Hinata and Naruto had been paying attention and dropped the genjutsu. "At leas that wasn't as troublesome as if I had to deal with being with Ino or Choji for this team thing."

Naruto quickly picked up the required item for the passing of the test as Asuma sat up, his head slightly tilting from side to side. "Ugh, what the hell did you three manage to do?"

"Aside from getting you to stop smoking for a year?" Naruto said while holding up the cigarette Asuma had been holding between his lips throughout the test. He crushed it between his thumb and forefinger, tossing it at the jonin's feet.

"Heh, seems like the three of you did pass after all. I just wanna know something."

Hinata looked up from behind Naruto. "W-what's that, Asuma-sensei?"

"How did you three manage to throw all that stuff at me from different directions the last round?" He dusted himself off, and looked on as a large group of shadow clones appeared from the trees. Half were Narutos, the other half having been turned into Hinatas in the event Asuma found a pair while trying to find them. "I should have remembered, you learned the Shadow Clone jutsu from Daisuke."

Showing off his foxy grin, Naruto held his hand out in a fist as the group of clones disappeared. "Believe it!"

'Oh Naruto-kun…'

* * *

I'd like to apologize to those of you who thought that I was going to make this completely full of fluffy goodness from the start like some stories are done. But my style is more… deranged, making people have to wait for what it is they want. I've already apologized and made it up to the first person whom I noticed was like this, but I won't know how many others were like this if I don't get more reviews! 


	10. Frustrated & Tense Threads

Disclaimer:

It's all about the Preface. Daisuke and Raven, as well as any other OC I may create, are mine and only mine. And then you got the OCs I borrwoed from Chaos.

* * *

Notes: Wow… I mean, holy crap, I went from about 1500 hits I think about thirty six hours ago to having nearly 2400 by the time I started writing this story. I would take a break from this story to at least let the number of days I've had this story on the net to the amount of published chapters, but I figured I might as well keeping going while the mojo keeps flowing. Thanks to you readers, thanks to you returning reviewers, and a big thanks to you new reviewers. The more reviews I get from you all, the better my output is.

Just so you all know, last chapter, this chapter, and the next three chapters are each going to be the exam that the jonin senseis give to their genin teams. This will give you all an insight into my thoughts on how the teams will work. And I'm gonna start throwing more twists into the expected canon, so be prepared for the unexpected.

And about the fluff and lemony content I promised you all: I will be putting more NaruHina fluff in, and I will only start to put in lime/lemon material after I've filled the fluffometer up to 100. At this point, the fluffometer is standing at about 7. Special note: the fluffometer is measured on NaruHina fluff only. I will reconsider this if I get enough reviews to persuade me otherwise.

And now for the next installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate': chapter 9!

* * *

"Alright you three, this is going to be a different test than what your fellow students are going to go through, as Neji would have been able to give away the point to the original test. So instead, you will be each sparring against one another while I examine each of your strengths and weaknesses." Kurenai glimpsed the reactions on the face of her students. 'This should be real interesting. The prodigy of the Hyuuga, Dog-boy, and Pinky… Kami, what did I do to deserve this?' "This will be a three way fight; refrain from shedding blood, broken bones, and use of items other than weapons or scrolls is prohibited. You may use partners and kekkei genkai though."

After a moment, Kurenai could sense the dread Sakura was letting off due to her lack of both a partner and a bloodline limit. Kiba was ignorant of everything going on around him as he examined his pup Akamaru, while Neji was just plain ignoring everything that wasn't coming from the mouth of what he called 'the temp'.

'I still don't know what is exactly going on here, but I will find out why Gai-sensei was pulled from duty. Even if I have to resort to asking Hiashi-sama to look into it.'

"Alright, take your positions and be ready to start."

The three students made their way out to the middle of the field and each one took position only ten feet from one another.

'Seems that each of them prefers to use close quarters fist taijutsu more than anything else, given how close they all are to each other. Looks like I'm going to have quite the challenge with this group.' Kurenai was cursing the situation with Gai, knowing full well that if it hadn't been for his favoritism of his small clone, there would be very different teams. But she also knew that because of that favoritism, the way jonin instructors were given genin had been changed in order to prevent further situations.

Holding her hand straight in front of her chest, Kurenai quickly raised it and thus the three way match started.

Kiba and Akamaru immediately flew into action, first going after Sakura as she hesitated to jump to action. Neji took into a slanted position, signaling the assertion of the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist taijutsu style.

Sakura was unprepared for Kiba's first move, which was to send Akamaru in first and attempt to tackle Sakura to the ground. She deftly dodged the small dog and used her momentum to follow through with a spinning roundhouse kick aimed for Kiba's chest. Anticipating this move from observing her movements during taijutsu practice in the Academy, Kiba held up his right arm as a shield as his other arm flew past her leg and landed straight into her gut.

Falling back from Kiba's assault, Sakura tripped over Akamaru who had been waiting behind her pivot foot for the right moment. Bounding away from her before she could nab him, the white pup stepped back to Kiba's side and stood on his hind legs, sniffing at a pouch hanging from Kiba's belt.

Without thinking, Kiba reached into the pouch and dug around in it. He pulled his hand free and slipped Akamaru a strange pill. Only Sakura failed to notice this.

Neji eased up from his stance as he saw a whirl of leaves appeared in front of Kiba. This startled the dog trainer into falling on his rear end and looking at the red-eyed jonin in front of him.

"Kiba, you are disqualified for use of prohibited materials."

"BUT-" he attempted, but couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"No buts. I distinctly said no items other than weapons and scrolls. That included soldier pills, wires, explosive tags, and the special pills the Inuzuka clan utilizes in their nin-ken partnerships," Kurenai said, ticking off the items she listed on her fingers as she had listed them out loud. "Now you will come back to the rail with me and observe the remainder of the match between Sakura and Neji before we move onto a greeting activity."

Kiba sighed in resign, then headed back to the rail at the edge of the training ground with Akamaru nipping at his heels.

Neji smirked at the way his 'teammate' so easily accepted the judgment. Out of the corner of his eye Neji spotted Sakura's pink hair rushing at him, hoping to catch him off guard with a flying kick aimed for his chest. He turned, grabbed the offending leg, and turned further in the direction which resulted in Sakura being thrown after spinning around once. She landed hard on the ground, sputtering dirt from her mouth.

"You were destined to fall at my hands, even with this being a training match," he scoffed, slipping once again into the starting positions of Gentle Fist.

Sakura rushed Neji, kunai held in each hand. 'Good, he's distracted. If I can just get to him within the time he's still looking at Kurenai-sensei, I can possibly end this.' **"Cha! That's right, attack him while he ain't looking!" **

Neji turned back to face Sakura, surprising her with the fresh smirk on his face. He stood still as he waited for his moment to strike. That came as Sakura was a foot away from him, pulling her left arm back to swing the first kunai at him.

He quickly turned his head to face her from his right, left hand blocking the incoming assault as his right arm lashed out and knocked her several feet from him. She was panting from the effort she had put into the attempt, while Neji was still calm as ever.

Sakura tried to stand up but fell back to one knee on the ground, her breath apparently having been knocked out of her more than she first thought. Neji took this instant to his advantage as he ran up to her, right hand readied for a Jyuuken palm strike.

"Enough Neji, she's down."

Neji squinted at Sakura before huffing. He eased from his stance and turned away, walking to a tree and leaned against it as his teammates and 'the temp' came over and they started to discuss the results that Kurenai had come to from the short-lived sparring session.

"Before I give you three the analysis I concluded from the fight about each of you, the introduction you give will include your name, your talents, the things that I will point out that you must work on, and what it is you plan to do with your life as being a shinobi of this village."

"Alright, since you were the first one out, Kiba, you will be the first to introduce yourself, then Sakura, then Neji. Kiba," the red-eyed jonin said and faced the nin-ken partnership, "you are an aggressive fighter will some skill, but you have a total lack of following orders by the looks of it. In the life as a shinobi, paying attention to orders and circumstantial restrictions is key to succeeding and progressing. If you are unable to follow even limitations in a training spar with your teammates, then how do you expect to be treated as an honorable shinobi?"

Kiba grumbled silently about the unfairness of having to not use his abilities to their fullest. Kurenai noticed this and coughed, reminding him of the procedure. Disgruntled, he sighed in defeat. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, a member of the famed nin-ken clan. My talents include my tracking and nin-ken partnership taijutsu with my pup Akamaru, and I apparently need to work on following orders to the fullest and pay attention to those ranked above me. As for what it is I plan to do as a shinobi of this village, I hope to one day broaden the usage of nin-ken in not just Konohagakure, but the entire shinobi world, since they have proven to be very valuable assets in the field."

Kurenai nodded as Kiba sat down and Akamaru hopped in his lap.

Pointing to Sakura, Kurenai continued her evaluation. "Sakura, you have decent taijutsu and skill with kunai. From your records you prove to be quite knowledgeable with the studies involved in being a shinobi. I noticed that while you have excellent chakra control, that is due to the fact that you have such a small amount of chakra reserves, which innately makes you be careful in exactly how much chakra you use for jutsus. You will therefore be needing to practice several training exercises that include use of chakra-absorbing weights for your wrists and ankles so as to increase both your physical strength but also your chakra reserves."

Nodding, Sakura gave her formal introduction as Kiba grudgingly had. "My name is Haruno Sakura, and my talents include a firm grasp on taijutsu as well as a good aim with kunai; I'm also well versed in the historical scrolls of our village. I need to work on my chakra reserves and physical stamina through exercises with special training weights. My plan for my life as a shinobi is…" Sakura couldn't continue without performing her own version of the classic Hinata-reaction when thinking of her own crush. **"Cha! We'll win Sasuke-kun's affections yet!"**

Kurenai sighed as she realized where her new kunoichi was going. She had gone over the files kept by Iruka during their time under his instruction, and found almost all the girls had all been chasing after Sasuke since the first day of school. Though some may have slackened a bit when Hyota Daisuke had arrived to take Shikamaru's place, that still left a large majority of the girls striving to impress the last Uchiha. She did not look forward to the countless lectures she would end up having to give to Sakura about her obsession getting in the way of her job as a shinobi.

"Now it is your turn Neji."

Just as the older genin was about to start, Kurenai held up a folder with his name on it. He quirked an eyebrow at seeing his file from the Hokage's office appear before him.

"Before you start, I'm going to point out the observations that your last jonin instructor had made, on top of my own." She opened the folder and scanned the pages, finding what it was she needed on the last piece of paper. "In Gai-san's own words: 'Neji, though a splendid ninja in his own right, is very prideful of his flaming youthful spirit and does not hesitate to showboat his Jyuuken abilities during missions and training matches alike. He has a small list of ninjutsus at his command, as well as a few genjutsus. Though he may come across as snobbish, he does take charge when needed to or during given circumstances. But instruction and work is needed on his overall ethic on teamwork and to accept when he is proven wrong. Some day, I will gladly watch as the power of youth will help Neji overcome many obstacles if he can first overcome his personal, unyouthful inner demons.'"

Neji was furious at the words that had just been announced before the other genin. He was also shocked that his last sensei had written such things about him, the prodigy of the Hyuuga.

Kurenai went on, leaving no time for Neji to retort. "Now, aside from what Gai-san has written down, I only noticed one other thing you really do need work on. And that is the mere fact that you seem to think that no one is above you and that everyone around you is there for you to squash under your feet like bugs. In that regard, I am going to be putting you under a genjutsu that will suppress your voice when and only when you are acting in such a way as to impose that train of thought into both the mind of yourself and the minds of those around you, with or without you even realizing what it is you're doing."

"But you can't do such a thing! I'm not a child that needs to learn a lesson, I am-"

"Acting just as was described by both Gai-san and myself just now: a pompous ass. And before you say another word, I am working within my every right as your jonin instructor, with full authority to do as I see fit to train this squad into performing to the best of its abilities, in any way I deem necessary. No questions asked."

Quickly forming a series of hand seals, Kurenai stared Neji dead in the eyes, initiating the genjutsu. Moments passed as Sakura and Kiba looked confusedly between their other teammate and their sensei, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

That was when they saw Neji starting to move his mouth but nothing was coming out. All three genin were speechless, two by the sheer fact that Kurenai-sensei had been telling the truth and followed up on what she had said.

"In order for me to remove that genjutsu, you must prove yourself to me that you are going to be worth my time in having as a part of this squad. Is that understood Hyuuga Neji?" Kurenai asked, staring directly at his pale eyes. She saw the flare of unvoiced emotions through the portals to his soul as he was unable to give a verbal acknowledgement. "Also keep in mind that if I find out that you or someone else has tampered with that genjutsu in any way, shape or form, then you will immediately be removed from this team and returned to the Academy for reeducation."

Upon seeing the look in the woman's eyes, Neji closed his eyes and focused his mind to rid himself of the thoughts that kept his voice locked away. "Yes, Kurenai-sensei. I will work on the things you have shown a light to."

"Good to hear, Neji-san." She then turned and glanced a moment at the other two students. "The same goes for you. If you both do not show significant improvement in the areas that I have instructed, then you will also face such consequences. In life, both civilian and shinobi, there is no room for such behavior and lack of thought."

Kiba and Sakura nodded to this, knowing at this time that what their sensei was law on top of the village's laws and those of their clans.

"Good to know. Now, we shall begin your training tomorrow. I hope to see all three of you making good progress with the items you all need to focus on by the time I see us starting D-rank missions one month from now."

Before any of the genin could say anything, Kurenai disappeared from sight with a smile to her students. They looked at one another and all sighed, seeing no other way to achieve their goals without being forced back through the Academy again.

* * *

All the while, they had been watched by the Hokage and his company.

"I see what you mean now, Hokage-sama."

"Yes, and it is a rather good thing that you do notice this already. It just signifies that you are also willing to go through with the path to redeem yourself." The old man scratched his chin as he looked upon the face of the Green Beast of Konohagakure wallow in regret for his teaching methods.

Looking straight into the eyes of the man that led the village, Might Gai made the only reasonable choice he could. "Yes, Hokage-sama. If it means that I can once again teach the students from the Academy and turn them into the powerful shinobi we need to have them become in the dire times to come, then I will do as you request."

"Very good, Gai." Reaching into a drawer of his desk, Sarutobi pulled a piece of paper from it and handed it to Gai. "This is where you are supposed to observe the test tomorrow. Remember that you are to not interfere in any way, nor are you to reveal yourself before the end of the test."

"I just hope that he does alright. And I can only imagine what Mitarashi-san has in store for her new students," the Green Beast responded, shuddering at the mere thought. "I will observe the tests, and administer the appropriate response given what results are rendered. I just hope my rival understands the consequences of this exam of not just him, but also himself."

* * *

PS- Sorry about the 36 hour delay, I just got caught up in some stuff that required my attention. I would have pumped out this chapter earlier today but I've been dealing with my new digital camera not working as intended. Damn LCD display ain't working, and I am hoping that the distributor is willing to either exchange it or cover the repairs.

Don't forget about the voting for the fluffometer: the more votes I get about it, the more likely I'll include other couple fluff scenes to the grand total, and that will lead to the inclusion of citrus-goodness all the sooner for you readers.

Until the next chapter, ja ne.


	11. Interesting Threads

Disclaimer:

Preface, that's all there is to it. Daisuke and Raven are mine, and Chaos still owns his materials.

* * *

Notes: This is gonna be fun! We've gone through the tests from Asuma and Kurenai, now it's time for the test from Kakashi. And what is Gai going to be doing eh? You'll just need to find out as you read.

Gonna keep it short for this one; the sooner I get these tests done the sooner I can start in on the prelim missions and then the Wave arc. Then the horizon's the limit at that point right now for my current thoughts.

Well, here's the next installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 10!

* * *

Kakashi was standing before the stone memorial for all those that were KIA or MIA during the line of duty in protecting the Village Hidden in the Leaves, reminiscing about the friends he had lost over the years, the loved ones he would never see alive again.

He would always come to the stone, which was what always caused him to be late.

Unless it was a day like today, where something utterly important demanded that he show up on time, if not a little earlier than scheduled.

He sighed, looking around as he noticed his three students making their way from two different directions. 'Seems that Raven ran into Shino along the way this morning. I just wonder what this is going to be like…'

Kakashi was brought out of his reverie as he noticed a green blur speed towards him at an impressive rate. Just before he could reach into his pouch and retrieve a kunai to throw at the blur, he found a miniature version of his 'eternal rival' standing at rapt attention before him.

"Good morning to you Kakashi-sensei. I see that the flames of youth are strong within you today," Lee said, swiftly saluting and staying still as a rock while Shino and Raven calmly caught up to the other two. Kakashi sighed inwardly, regretting the choice to take on a squad this year just because of the chance there was for him to be the jonin to teach Sasuke. 'Damn you Gai, you won't know what pain truly is until I've gotten my hands on you…'

Lee eased himself out of the rigid pose as his two new teammates strode up, Shino listening to his bugs that had been sent ahead and were conveying what was going on; Raven simply was glancing around at various places on the training ground.

'Might as well get this over with and meet with the Hokage about that resignation he's most likely gonna have me sign.' "Alright, before we proceed with this test, I want you each to give the others your name, what you do and don't like, what it is you wish to do with yourselves, you pick. After all that, you will all have to figure out a riddle for me."

Kakashi proceeded to start the session first. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, I've got many dislikes and likes. I don't really have many dreams to say." Turning slightly, he pointed at the clone. "You're next, bushy brows."

Lee's eye twitched at this comment, not liking it when people made fun of his appearance. Least of all his eyebrows. He almost forgot what was going on until he sensed something quietly approach. It dawned on him what it was he was feeling, then he relaxed. "I am Rock Lee. Training to increase the flames and spirit of my own youth and also of those around me are my daily goals. Those that are unyouthful will know the true power of my spirit, as I continue with my goal to prove that someone can become a splendid ninja without the use of ninjutsu and genjutsu!" He finished this all with the classic 'Gai-nice-guy' pose: arm straight out with his thumb up in the air as he smiles wide with teeth so white they almost made the orange that Naruto wears look dull in comparison.

'Great, he truly is a small clone of Gai, just great.'

Kakashi pointed next to Raven. "Alright, it's your turn to get scrutinized, blondie." Both of the male genin were surprised by what they saw next: upon hearing the 'nickname' that their new sensei had bestowed upon her, Raven's hair seemed to have turned red as did her eyes for a moment. Then, her hand was a blur as it flew out and grabbed hold of the finger that Kakashi had used to indicate her turn.

"My name is Raven Straussburg, not blondie. I enjoy performing torture routines to make those that piss me off suffer as payment. Those that piss me off include people that are arrogant, those that are perverted, and those that show no respect to anyone else. I plan to use my skills as a shinobi for the increasing cause to drive back the cold darkness that everyone hates and usher in a new age of comforting, warmth that the darkness once held for us all."

With a very loud _snap_ she twisted the forefinger she had been holding between her forefinger and middle finger violently to the side which resulted in it snapping like a twig. Lee was failing at keeping his jaw from hitting the floor as Kakashi grunted in discomfort. Shino noted the surprised looks on their faces, especially of Kakashi. 'Stupid fools. Just because she is a kunoichi does not mean she is not strong in her own right just as we are. I know that and only from talking with her the last few minutes before finally arriving here.'

She silently let go of the broken finger as Kakashi made a mental note to not piss off the new Darkness kunoichi. He then remembered when a similar incident happened a year and a half ago when he had met up with Amanda one day by coincidence in a dango shop. He tried to hit on her, which resulted in more than a simple broken finger.

"Okay, now on to the last member of our team then." 'Just hope he doesn't sick those kikaichu of his on me. The last thing I need to explain is how I got ousted by the killer intent of Mini-Gai, received a broken finger from a Darkness-genin while suffering the effects of chakra depletion from those bugs draining my entire chakra network. Yeesh.'

"My name is Aburame Shino. I harvest and breed kikaichu for myself and the rest of my clan. My dislikes are many as well as my likes, and the furthering of my clan's knowledge via travels and missions as a shinobi of this village are my goals," the boy said, not once revealing any emotion or sign of change behind his coat collar and black glasses.

'Whew, didn't do anything to me like the last one and didn't release a large amount of killer intent like bushy-brows did.' "Alright then team, instead of the normal test I would have given you, there is going to be two tests instead. If all three of you manage to accomplish both tests by the time this timer," he said as he pulled out an hourglass with a bottom full of sand and placed it in the middle of them, "then we will all share in the lunch that I prepared for us." With that, he pointed to a set of boxes sitting behind him on a tree trunk, and they all counted three boxes but four people.

Shino merely raised an eyebrow behind his shades, while Lee took a baffled look on his face. Raven stayed indifferent, apparently not surprised by the unofficial third test. 'I see he's pulling a classics 'see through deception' lesson here, how clever of our new sensei.'

"You may see there is only three boxes, but four of us. The simple answer is that the last person to come over and give me the correct answer to both riddles will be sent back to the Academy until next year, and will also be tied to one of the posts there, pointing behind the students, "and watch as the rest of us eat the lunches."

None of them were able to or wanted to respond. They knew that sometimes things would require sacrifice, but to allow for one of their team to be left out to dry just because they didn't come up with the right answer soon enough.

"Any last questions before we begin?"

* * *

Gai watched from the shadows of the trees far off behind Kakashi and his new team. 'Hmmm. Seems Kakashi has for some reason changed his normal testing routine. But why?' 

* * *

"Alright, since none of you seem to have any further questions, I will flip the timer as soon as I have given the first riddle." With that, he picked up the hourglass and asked, "What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?" And with that, he slammed the timer upside down onto the ground in the middle of them.

Kakashi watched the reaction of each student, at least as best he could. 'Let's see who creates the right answer first.'

Lee was staring at the hourglass as if he were able to learn how to drill a hole directly through it at any moment. 'I must come up with the answer, and before time runs out or we will not be able to have enough time to complete the answer to the second riddle. But then we run into the problem of how to answer it so that all three of us can answer at the same time?'

Raven was focusing chakra to the center of her palms, middle finger tips touching the tips of her thumbs over her palms as a strange mark seemed to appear between her eyes and started to slowly develop more like a mask over her eyes, hiding them completely. 'This one is too easy: now I just have to create a way for Shino and Lee to answer the same as I do…'

Shino was paying close attention to not just his teammates, but also to Kakashi himself. He had seen the minute changes in his blood pressure and his bugs smelt something coming off him as he first looked at Lee's intent on glaring at the hourglass, and to the small chakra-focused enduced change of Raven's face. When he himself noticed it, it unsettled him to say the least. Never had he seen someone make a mask of concentration such as this out of pure chakra control. 'What kind of tricks does our dear kunoichi have up her sleeve?' Shino just kept his thoughts to himself as he created a plan. He had realized one of the bigger parts to the test.

Lee was brought out of his staring-trance with the hourglass as he saw Shino get up and move to be squatting down in between he and Raven. Tapping both on the shoulder gently, especially Raven as he knew next to nothing about the young Darkness-genin. He summoned them to come closer with a beckoning finger. Curious, they both leaned in and heard Shino speak.

"Now there was one major rule that Kakashi-sensei had failed to mention." Kakashi was just barely able to hear what was being said, thanks to utilizing a hearing-supplemental jutsu that was similar to a jutsu used by the Inuzuka clan to increase the sense of the olfactory powers. 'Hmm, seems that he's already figured out the big loophole to this riddle's rules. Very impressive Shino.'

Shino had just finished telling the loophole, and Raven decided to spill her clues since Shino had spilt his.

"The answer is very simple: here's a hint. What are we?"

This caused Lee to sit back from the huddle curtly, concentratin his mind onto the list of words that came to mind in regards to what they were and how it related to the riddle. Shino immediately saw the answer, but knew that she had wanted for both of them to figure it out on their own from her clone rather than just constantly giving up the answers.

Lee was so caught up on his trail of thoughts about the words lists when he saw his teammates making hand signs to him. 'What are they…? Oh, I see now! They are using combat sign language to communicate with me! Upon this realization, he zoomed his hands through the question _What have you two figured out so far about the answer?_

In response, Lee saw Raven turn herself towards him, and using her right hand out of sight of Kakashi but not Lee, she made her hand into a shape with her fingers. She motioned with her four fingers slow unpracticed movements. After a few moments, she moved onto using her fore and middle finger as legs to make them walk around a bit. Before she went onto the third part of the riddle, Lee just smiled brightly.

Upon seeing her two teammates now seeing what she had told them, Shino sat back down to her left as they prepared to give their answer. Signaling with quick glances to her sides, she flicked the blade of the scythe forward, and Kakashi was thusly impressed.

Before anyone could say anything, the three students stated in unison, "Humans."

Smiling to himself genuinely, Kakashi picked up the hourglass and put it in his lap for the time being, not allowing any sand to further drain. "Very well done you three. I have never had a student, let alone three at once, create such a unified answer without speaking anything of the answers since then. You all have passed the first riddle of my test, and as of now there is still no one at risk of missing out on lunch," he said, smiling under his mask. The only sign outside his mask that he was truly impressed was that his uncovered right eye was turned into an upside down 'U'.

Raising the hourglass back up to eye level for the students before him, Kakashi went on to the instructions for the second riddle. "You three must now give me a four-sided triangle."

Before he fully righted the container back onto the ground, he added, "And this time, there will be no verbal communications between the three of you. In doing so, you will forfeit your current standing and immediately be tied to a tree. Should all three of you end up on those logs, you will go back to the Academy." And with that, Kakashi righted the hourglass so the sand from the top was pouring down to the empty chamber.

* * *

'My my my, Kakashi my eternal rival… Quite the ingenious idea of how to create the perfect team with a firm understanding on ethics and basics.' Gai started to position himself closer to the situation, as time was running out for the students. 

* * *

The three students jumped up, knowing all too well in their own minds that a triangle was only supposed to have three sides. They knew that on a piece of paper, there were only two ways for things to be depicted, up and down, left and right. The thought of a third possible weight to indicate it's shape was through the depth or width, not until Lee noticed Shino's bug crawling around him. He noticed the way that the small insect's shadow grew the closer it got to the source. Lee then realized what the answer was.

Quickly, he noted that there wasn't much time left in the hourglass so he had to act faster than he could even dream of signing. He forced Shino and Raven to sit down with Raven's left shoulder sitting against' Shino's right, leaving a space obviously meant for Lee. They also saw the Second Green Beast undo the bandages on his hands and drape it from Raven's feet to Shino's and then to where he knew would be where his feet sat. That just left the line from his to Raven's feet, which he instantly qualled with a flick of the wrist and more bandage did as he motioned.

Shino caught onto the plan immediately, and was focusing on the task he was giving to his insects. Soon, a line of insects started to form trails from his sleeves, one trail to the feet of his teammates. Upon making sure the bugs were lined and ready, he had them make their strange body-bridges out of one another to a point above the heads and between their crowns. Raven nodded to herself as she focused a bit of chakra into the bandages and the bug bridges, and soon the sides between each student seemed to shimmer.

Just as the jutsu was up, the last grain of sand fell to the bottom, thereby ending the two riddles and with no time to spare.

"Congratulations are indeed in order for you three. Not only did you conquer one of the oldest riddles known to Mankind but you also were able to think outside the box, in a way." Kakashi put the hourglass away as he went to the boxes and returned, handing each student one of them. "Since you all answered the questions at the same time, no one is going back to the Academy. And it seems you all also understood the third challenge: to work as a team despite the odds and work through any inconvenience." Kakashi smiled as each of his students opened their boxes and happily enjoyed the free meal provided by their new sensei. Before he could say anything, there was a dashing blur coming right at him, and there wasn't anything he could do to stop it from impacting.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"


	12. Tastykun & Pandachan!

Disclaimer:

Preface is all the disclosure I need. Me: Daisuke and Raven, Choas: Kommando/Jack/Amanda/Carlos.

* * *

Notes: Sorry about yesterday there not being an actual chapter post; I just barely missed my personal deadline of midnight by two minutes for finishing the editing. So, in true Gai/Lee style, I will post at least five, count em 5, chapters by 11:59pm on Sunday. If I fail at that, then I shall post at least eight chapters between the start of Monday and the last minute of next Friday night.

Hope you guys loved how I ended last chapter. I figured I might as well put in some Gai-mannerisms since I put in Naruto's catch phrase that thankfully was phased out after the Wave arc. But don't rejoice yet, for I am nowhere near the end of the Wave arc, so I will still be having Naruto repeating his beloved phrase.

As of the time that I started writing this chapter, I've broken the 3600 marker for hits. Thanks to you readers, you reviewers, and those of you marking this in your alerts/favorites. Also, don't forget about the fluffometer!

And so here it comes, 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 11!

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"Ok maggots, let's get the intros over with so I can see what makes you tick." Licking a kunai, Anko flicked her wrist and sent it whizzing past Daisuke's cheek, leaving a trickle of blood to flow down slowly. Ten-Ten groaned inwardly as she knew what was about to happen.

Daisuke flinched slightly as he felt something soft and warm rub against his cheek repeatedly. He shivered as he felt arm wrap around from his right and felt a kunai press lightly against his throat. 'Damn, she is one sadistic jonin'

Ten-Ten's eyes narrowed as she seethed from watching the display in front of her, knowing that she couldn't do anything to her new sensei… yet. 'Just you wait, Anko-sensei. I will get you back for each time I see you do that to _my_ Dai-kun,' she thought to herself with an evil smirk.

"My my, you shinobi from Ankokugakure sure do have tasty blood," cooed Anko, taking one last lick as she noticed the blood had stopped flowing. She released him, putting the kunai away and went back to be in front of her new students. "Alright, I'll give you my intro so you know the jist of what to do. I'm Special Jonin instructor Mitarashi Anko. I love dango, throwing kunai at random people, and tasting the blood of each random person that I slice with my kunai. I hate certain people that have come out of this village, as well as a majority of the stupid villagers. My goal is to taste the delicious blood of as many shinobi," eyeing Daisuke and licking her lips, "and enacting revenge upon my former sensei for what he's done. And before you ask, I will not tell you who he was, at least not for the time being."

She noted the reaction she had stirred up within her kunoichi student and smiled to herself. 'Seems the rumor is true, they became an item already huh?'

"Alright Daisuke, you go ahead and introduce yourself to me in the same manner." Smirking, she came up with a great idea. "If you fail to mention the same information, I am going to give the 'special treatment' again. Same goes for you missy, though your blood isn't as exotic as his I'm sure."

Ten-Ten blanched at this, sending a cold shiver down her spine. 'Damn she's weird.'

Daisuke regained his composure, thanking Kommando for having given him every pair of sunglasses he'd ever worn and would wear. As well as the ocular-concealment jutsus and the adhesive chakra exercises to keep them on his face. If not for all that, then Daisuke would have surely had his eyes bug out at that last comment. 'Oi, what have we gotten ourselves into Ten-chan?'

He took their attention from one another by coughing loudly, and gave his 'intro' to his new sensei. "I'm Daisuke Hyota, fresh genin for Ankokugakure though I'm here and having been in your Academy the last two years. I like Ten-chan as well as the rest of my village, even the fangirls but not as much as they want. Cats seem to love me and I return their affections and even chase away dogs from them if need be. I hate creepy people," he glanced with his eyes at his sensei, unbeknownst to her, "such as Gai-san and Lee-san, as well as those that are under the presumption that they are above all others just because of their social status. I in turn want to use my status as a shinobi to bring change to the Hidden Villages in the East."

Anko closed her eyes as she turned to Ten-Ten. "Humph, at least your desire in life is quite original and inspiring, compared to what I've heard most every other jonin instructor say their students said. I'm impressed gaki. But now it's little Panda-chan's turn."

Ten-Ten was livid. 'She did _not_ just call me _that_ name, did she?' Her ears were releasing black smoke from her ears as she realized that her sensei had indeed called her a panda. Quickly composing herself before she whipped out all the weapons she had on her and use her sensei as a moving target that needed some new piercings, she went on with her introduction to Anko. "My name is Ten-Ten, and Dai-kun is the most important person to me aside from family. I like to train with all different types of weapons that my family gets their hands on, listening to Dai-kun tell stories about the West, and sparring with him. Some of the things that really irritate me are fangirls, loud people, arrogant asshats, and those that betray those they've been sworn to protect. My goals are to branch out the family business to many more villages, both civilian and Hidden alike, and possibly even bridge the gap between the West and East villages with my company."

"Very interesting Panda-chan. Well, now that those are out of the way, I can get to gauging you both for your abilities." Anko took out a couple slips of paper from an inner coat pocket and handed one to each the genin, one still in her hand. "First off, is to find your elemental affinity. Now normally you don't go through this until you've passed the chunin exams that happen twice a year, but both of you are far from normal genin. So I figured let's push things faster."

Thye looked at the papers in there hands and then each other. Anko noticed the confusion, and held her hand up with the slip in between her forefinger and thumb. "It's just a matter of channeling some chakra through your hand and into the paper. Depending on your affinity, you will find a different result. Waters will have their papers get wet, those that are wind have theirs sliced in half; earthen ninja see theirs turn to dust as lightning causes the paper to crumple, and fire will burn the paper. Watch." She closed her eyes a tad and a faint glow emanated from her hand, and the next thing Daisuke and Ten-Ten saw was a pile of dust in the hands of their sensei. "I myself am an earth-ninja, but I hardly use any earth-style jutsus for the most part."

Daisuke smirked at the possibilities, knowing what each affinity could do for his skills. Ankokugakure made it a point to at least inform their young shinobi-in-training to be aware of each person possibly having an elemental affinity for one, or possibly even two elements at the same time, thus giving them more of an edge with certain jutsu styles. His cousin Kommando was an earth-nin, and as far as he knew Amanda was the only dual elemental shinobi in the village, as she could manipulate both water and air at the same time.

Ten-Ten stared at the paper for a moment, just curious as to the results of her test. She had never heard of the test itself but she had heard something of affinities from her parents, when they talked about their dealings with shinobi seeking a particular weapon smith to make a commission to specific standards for them.

"Alright you two, get to molding your chakra into the paper. After I find out what you two have, the sooner I can get to finding techniques and styles for you to learn over the next few months," Anko said as she sat down on a rock.

Focusing on the papers in their hands, the two genin closed their eyes. After a few moments, Anko saw the fruits of their efforts. In Ten-Ten's hand there was a pile of dust, as Daisuke was holding his paper up that had been cut in half across the width.

"Well this is certainly going to be easy when it comes to your training Panda-chan. You can pretty much learn most of my jutsu base, but Tasty-kun is gonna be slightly more interesting. I only know a couple of wind style jutsus, and then there's the fact that wind-affinity shinobi are hardly found here. I'll probly need to talk with Asuma about it, since he's one of the only jonin around here that is wind, so getting jutsus from him will help you greatly." Anko pulled out a package from her pocket and opened it, revealing a premade form of dango on a plastic skewer.

"But aren't genin normally supposed to do several months of D-rank missions after getting their squads?" Daisuke said, mouth watering at the slight aroma of the dango in the air.

Ten-Ten saw the small package and smiled. 'At least that's one thing we have in common: can't get enough dango.'

Anko saw the drool and the shaking head before her, and then realized why she saw what she did. Putting an evil grin on her face, she came up with the perfect answer and the next challenge for her new students.

"First, it's really up to the jonin instructor as to how you progress with either training or missions first. Now, unless you have any more questions?" She paused a moment to make sure neither of them would speak up her plan continued. "Okay, now before I dismiss you two for the day, I propose a deal to both of you, seeing as you both apparently want a pack of dango," she said, pulling out two more packages, similar to the first but obviously different flavors, "I will give each of you a pack if you can pass a small test of mine."

Both students looked at the other, then back to their sensei. "What kind of test?"

Anko smirked at this; they had fallen for the bait, hook, line, and suckers.

"You first must both be able to keep yourselves from getting caught by my friend Raijin, for half an hour at the least."

Quirking his head to the side like a mouse with a brain tumor, he asked. "Who's Raijin?"

Anko's smirk turned into a full facial grin, reminiscent of one of Naruto's foxy grins. 'Oi, I don't have such a good feeling about this one bit…' Daisuke's train of thought as Anko answered him clearly for once.

"He's my leading snake summon!"

And with that, Anko bit her thumb down, and called out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!", slamming her hand onto the floor. Next thing Ten-Ten knew, she and Daisuke were running from the large snake that appeared.

It looked in shape and markings to be like a python, but then they noticed that it was long enough to wrap its body around the Academy building.

It surprised Anko to say the least when Raijin returned to her and said that he had not yet found them. Instead of continuing with the game, she nodded to the large python as it puffed back to the summons realm.

Both genin came up to stand in front of the sensei, short of breath. "Seems that the two of you actually gave something to him that he hasn't had in quite a long time. A good running for his money and being beaten."

Both students were about to make responses but were quieted when they were smacked in the face with packaged dangos. Daisuke and Ten-Ten smiled at their sadistic sensei, knowing things could only get weirder and weirder for the three of them.

"Meet me back here about nine-ish in the morning. I should have a scroll or two for you to study Tasty-kun, while I teach Panda-chan some of the lower level earth style jutsus. After we've gotten all those down then I'll see about whether you need more training or if it's time to start you on missions by then."

Daisuke was very surprised about how peculiar this situation was getting. 'I just hope that we progress at the same level as the other. Otherwise, keeping a level team together would be pretty hard.'

"Alright, now get out of here, the both of you! I've got stuff to take care of, and that doesn't mean I need the company of the maggots to get in my way. Now scram!"

* * *

Alrighty folks, hope you liked that chapter.

Now here comes something I have yet to see very much often: Naruto omakes!

And now I present you with the pilot episode to NARUTO OMAKE THEATER!

* * *

NARUTO OMAKE THEATER

Presents

Daisuke's fan club, alpha and omega branches, part 1

Anko and Ten-Ten are staring at Daisuke, Ten-Ten with hearts in her eyes and Anko glancing away. She was hiding a blush so as to not give up her position.

"Can I put my clothes back on now? It's a tit bit nippley out here without them on," Daisuke requested.

"I dunno, I'm tempted to bring in the fangirls and get them started on you right now," Anko said in his ear seductively.

Ten-Ten froze at this. "No! Not my Dai-kun, you crazy snake bitch! Get away from him, he's all mine!"

Ten-Ten ran over to Daisuke as his muddled brain tried to piece together the jigsaw on the field that had presented itself to him. Before it clicked in his brain, he had already noticed that he was now being dragged about the entire out of the forest.

"Just needed to get you from the masses of fan girls you've grown over the past two years." Ten-Ten blushed heavily as Daisuke pulled her into a hug. She leaned to him for just a second until they both heard screaming.

At the edge of the horizon, there was a huge dust cloud coming up at high speeds at them.

"Oh shit Shit SHIT!" Daisuke said, causing a sweatdrop at the sight off the mass of girls and young kunoichi. What surprised him more than the overall cloud size was the fact that the leader of the pack at the moment was Anko, preparing her arms for something.

Last thing Daisuke remembered was a flash of bright bombs as Ten-Ten did what anyone in her position would: grab her property and run the hell home.

* * *

And one last thing before I move on with the storyline: When I get into the Wave arc, I'd like to actually get the input of the readers and the reviewers, so here goes:

Should I make Haku a boy or a girl in this story? I've got it planned to go either way, but I may as well see what the public wants.

Until then, ja ne!


	13. None for All & One for Thyself

Disclaimer:

I put it all in the Preface. I will always own Daisuke and Raven, and also Chaos his characters.

* * *

Notes: Okay, four teams have had their test and only one to go. After that I'll get them to do some missions and training. What is going to happen to Kakashi? What is Gai going to do? Will Anko keep cutting up Tasty-kun and having her sadistic needs met before Panda-chan looses it? And what is the Hokage going to do next?

So far I've gotten 2 votes for Haku being a girl. I'll make my final decision after I've gotten either a majority of 10 reviews or have gotten to Haku's initial meeting with Naruto off the battle field.

And now, for today's second of at least 3 installments, 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate' chapter 12!

* * *

Genma had instructed his students to meet him in a secluded training ground at the south end of the village the next day after they had gone through the basics of introducing themselves. He was making his way slowly, senbon moving around as he chewed on it, when he heard some loud crashes from somewhere.

"COME HERE TASTY-KUN! YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER!" 'That voice? What is she doing at a time like this?

"FUCKFUCKSHITFUCK! GODDAMNCRAPSUCKER!" 'Hm? That must be her male student, the one from Ankokugakure, Daisuke I think his name was. Just makes you wonder what the hell is going on with them already.'

Before he could move any further, he saw the blazing form of the Darkness-genin turn the corner and headed straight in his direction. Not a moment later and Genma could see that Anko had pulled out all the stops and had summoned Raijin as part of the chase.

"I'LL GET YOU, YOU DARKNESS-SPAWNED BRAT!" Anko was furious for some reason, and Genma could only step towards the wall of a house to avoid being in the path of the giant snake and the two shinobi flying by.

'I don't think she's going to learn self-restraint any time soon, even with having to take on students…' Genma continued, ignoring the crashes and explosions that started to wake up the entire village, on his way to administer the final exam to truly become genin to his students. 'This is going to be interesting to say the least, what with that emo brat, the loudmouth blonde fangirl and the human garbage disposal as my students.'

When he arrived at the training ground, Genma was relieved to see that the three genin were already there and waiting.

Sasuke was sitting on top of the large log that was embedded into the center of the training ground, Ino sitting beside him with her legs over the edge as she tried to grab his attention, and Choji was sitting on the ground with his back against the log and munching on something that looked like a pork bun but was two pieces of bread instead of the meat contents being covered by dough.

"Hello students. It's good to see that you all got here on time for this final exam. And before you ask, you may have graduated from the Academy and gotten a hitai-ite, but that only means you were at the first level of being genin: the theory behind being a ninja. Your ability to actually perform the second level of being a genin is tested by your jonin instructor, in this case me." Genma was not surprised by the looks the students gave him.

Sasuke clenched his fist. "How can you do this? I have to become a ninja so I can kill that certain someone! I must rebuild my clan, and I can't do that if I don't kill him first!"

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun **has** to become an official ninja!" Ino piped up. She opened her mouth to continue her rant in hopes of winning some form of affection from the heartthrob but was cut short when Choji spoke up.

"You both need to realize that there is a lot of things more important than revenge and posing in the life of a shinobi," Choji said after having devoured the last bit of his food. He looked at Genma. "Isn't that right sensei?"

Genma scoffed, seeing that the Akimichi was actually proving to be the most hopeful of the three. 'Just means I can get away with this other test I was looking at, huh?'

Genma stepped closer to his students, stopping only five feet from the log they were occupying. "Alright, listen up you three, here is the test and its rules. The test is going to be a test of your skills. The only rule is that the first person to get the senbon needle from my mouth wins. Now before you start to assume things, let me make this next fact clear."

He waited to see any outbursts, but was pleasantly surprised to find that none of the students made a move to interrupt. But Sasuke seemed to try and glare daggers through him as if to say 'I don't care, just lemme become a genin and get the fuck out of my way dammit!'.

"The fact of this test is simple, and it is **not **a trick in any way shape or form. The person that obtains this senbon needle," he flicked the end of it with a finger as emphasis, "will be turned into a full genin, while the other two will be sent back to the Academy for the opportunity of training and having better luck at the next graduation draw. If that option doesn't suit either or both of those that fail to get my senbon, then your only other option is to drop out of the program, permanently."

Two sets of jaws almost hit the ground from their owners atop the log while Choji just smirked and opened up a bag of salt and vinegar chips. 'Man, good thing I learned that summoning technique from Auntie Misato! I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't get them to send me all the good stuff from Ankoku.'

"You can't do that, it's not fair!" Sasuke yelled, raising his fist at Genma.

'I can and will do that, as it is how I see fit. Jonin instructors are the only ones allowed to determine whether or not the students assigned to them are worthy of being genin. Most of the time, the squads will be given a test such as this, and told that someone will have to go back to the Academy for not performing up to snuff. And almost all the time that that is said, either the team figures out the trick or everyone loses sight of the real picture. None of the teams within the last five years have figured out the trick, and thus were sent back to the Academy."

Narrowing his eyes, he glared back up at the emo prince. "But I am in no way making any form of a joke. From what I have read of your profiles written by Iruka Umino, your Academy instructor, paired with what I've seen already, I am completely warranted in my removal of the falsehood tactic most jonin instructors use to make their students realize the meaning of this test."

Sasuke was about to retort with venomous words but was stopped when Genma pulled a clock out of a pocket on his chunin vest and set a timer, then set it on the ground in between him and Choji. Ino could only fathom what their sensei was doing, while Choji seemingly ignored it all and enjoyed his exotic chips.

"Now go and start: you have one hour to get this senbon, or else all three of you will be sent back to the Academy or dropped from the training courses."

With that, Sasuke leapt from the top of the log and disappeared into the forest line not far off. Ino stared for a moment before the reality sunk in. 'I… might not get… to be on the same team as Sasuke-kun?' Shaking her head, she saw she had already wasted five minutes of that precious hour. She looked around and saw Choji simply walking in the opposite direction of Sasuke. A small whisper hit her ear as she was about to take off after Sasuke.

"You might want to forget about your blind obsession for once and think more about yourself. Remember, if you fail to get the senbon needle you either head back to the Academy or become a civilian for life." Before Ino could retort, she was grabbed by the shoulders and swung around, Genma releasing her after a few rotations and she went flying.

* * *

Sasuke watched at the first spectacle of the test and scoffed. 'Serves her right. She does need to move on if she expects to actually be a ninja.' He watched closely as Genma simply sat down on the log, gazing out over the clearing. 'He seems way too laid back to be a jonin. He's got to be a joke of some kind. How does the Hokage expect for us to learn and grow strong from someone nearly as lazy as that Nara loser?' 

* * *

Choji was quietly sitting behind a tree that was the border of the clearing, using the metal plate of his headband to look back at Genma and scanning for signs of his two 'teammates'. He was going to watch them for the next half hour and see if either of them had come up with a plan to get the senbon needle in order to pass. 'Losers, it's so simple to get it. But are either of you smart enough to realize that?' 

* * *

Ino finally landed in a rough blob in a river a few hundred feet from the clearing. She shakily rose to her feet and looked around. 'What the hell happened?' she thought, momentarily forgetting about how she had been sent flying.

"Oi, I gotta get back!" Ino shouted, having instantly remembering how the jonin instructor had thrown her out of the clearing as if she was a kunai.

She ran off leaving a trail of dust, hoping to get the senbon needle and use it to get something out of Sasuke.

* * *

'Time to put myself into the fray.' And with that, Sasuke went into action with his plan.

Sasuke came flying out of the forest, flashing through hand signs at a rate Genma knew that a normal genin couldn't move at. "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" He moved his right hand in a sign up to his mouth, quickly exhaling the large breath he took in with the name of the jutsu, sending a fireball half his size to the top of the log. He saw the fireball connect with the log and the explosion created a huge smoke cover. "Hn."

Genma coughed a bit of the smoke out of his lungs, sensing the young avenger had not moved since he saw the jutsu hit the log. "Just because you can perform a high level fire jutsu such as that doesn't mean you're going to get the senbon from me, Uchiha."

Sasuke fumed with anger at the comment, forgetting that there were two other people in the vicinity who also were supposed to be attempting at getting the specific item. "I'll teach you to mock me!"

Before Sasuke could move ahead, there was a loud scream as Ino ran into the clearing and jumped up, bringing her right hand up and aimed the kunai it held at the jonin's face. She smirked, until she found him disappear in a puff of smoke and replaced with a log stuck on the tip of her kunai. "Damn it!"

Genma smirked, seeing her frustration at the predicament. 'Seems they are forgetting about the time limit. There is only five minutes left.'

But then Genma remembered something very important. "Where's Choji?" he asked out loud. To answer his question, the Akimichi slowly came out of his spot and stood before him.

"Hello there Genma-sensei."

"Hello Choji. I'm surprised you haven't done anything to get the senbon like your teammates have. I must say, if you want to get it, you have to act within the next three minutes, or else you all head back to the Academy," the jonin said, leaning back against a tree.

Choji smiled at him, and replied, "But I was simply watching them, and now I am going to get that senbon from you."

Genma smirked. "And how are you going to do that?"

With his own smirk, Choji walked up to be a foot away from him and held out his hand. "May I please have the senbon, Genma-sensei?"

Genma let out a loud laugh. 'Finally, someone that sees the actual point to **this **test.' "Alright, but let's get out to the log first and show off your brilliance to the other two."

Nodding, Choji followed him back out to the field. Ino and Sasuke were standing near the log, deep in thought. Both of them were in awe that Choji had not done anything to try and claim the senbon for himself. They were about to start downsizing his abilities as a ninja in front of Genma until they saw what happened next.

Genma stepped up to the timer and turned to face the three genin. Choji came in between Ino and Sasuke, and stuck his hand out. "Now may I?"

With a very evil grin, Genma took the senbon carefully out of his mouth and gingerly handed it to Choji, and as soon as his hand let go of it, the timer behind him immediately sounded, announcing that the exam was over.

"Okay, well it seems that Choji was the only one of you capable of getting the senbon from me before the timer went off. So that means," he said, glancing a moment at first Ino, then Sasuke, "that both of you, are hereby given the choice to either return to the Academy and attempt to become genin at the next graduation exam a year from now, or completely give up and live forever as civilians as long as you live in Konoha."

At this, Choji handed back the senbon needle to his sensei, and stood off to one side of him and waited for the outburst from each of his would-have-been teammates.

Ino was the first to respond, with a series of stutters and pointed fingers, which led her to simply faint. She fell to the ground and started mumbling in her state about cheating fat-asses and lazy jonins. Sasuke on the other hand was furious.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" Sasuke yelled, pointing at the two in front of him.

"It's simple: Choji figured out from his observations of yours and Ino's futile attempts to forcibly acquire the senbon that it was useless and stupid to try and overpower me or sneak-attack me. So, with three minutes to go before the alarm went off he appeared and simply asked for it. I decided to show how simple the task was to both you and Ino in hopes the two of you would see the errors of your ways, but it seems that Choji truly is the only one who understood the meaning of this test."

Sasuke was about to berate him when Genma held up a hand. "The point of this test was for you all to observe and pick apart each other's habits, and see about using them to your advantage. That is in truth, one of the most basic and necessary talents that the greatest shinobi need in order to survive. And Choji was the only one to do that, what with you showboating with your weak fireball jutsu and Ino's poor planning in an armed confrontation."

Genma turned to Choji. "Hey Choji, think you could deliver a message to the Hokage's office for me?"

"Sure thing Genma-sensei. What is it?" he responded, putting away the bag of exotic chip he had reopened.

"Take this," he pulled out a fresh needle from a pouch and handed it to the official genin, "and show it to the Hokage. If you imitate my habits with that, Sarutobi-sama will immediately understand. He will also give you some papers for me to fill out regarding your results and those of these two. I need you to bring them back before I let these two go on their way to cry to their loved ones about not becoming genin this time around."

Choji slightly saluted with the senbon, then placed it in his mouth at the corner as his sensei did. Just as he turned, Genma told him one last thing. "Oh, and consider this your first official mission, Choji."

Choji walked off with a huge smile on his face, hearing that his first mission had come not even ten minutes after passing such an easy tactics exam. He paid no attention to the yelling from Sasuke at his sensei, rather former sensei, and Ino's incessant whining about her fate.

'Serves those self-centered ass-hats right. At least Genma-sensei was kind enough to give them the option of either the Academy or leaving behind all their hard work.' And so Choji made his way to the Hokage's office, mission on his mind as he started to chew on the end of his senbon needle.

* * *

Now I'm very surprised at you Shawny Wong; how could you have forgotten that I had yet to write the test chapter for Sasuke's team? You are a funny person, but at least you're keeping up with me haha.

Now to get to work on the 3rd of the 5 chapters I plan to have put up by the stroke of midnight tomorrow night. YOSH!


	14. Weaving the Threads Together

Disclaimer:

Everything to protect me is in the Preface. Daisuke and Raven are mine, and I haven't decided on whether or not to kidnap and brainwash Chaos' OCs to make them think I made them myself.

* * *

Notes: Well, **now** I've finished up with the genin tests. Hah! Now comes the start of everyone's first month of work, be it training or missions, or both. Now this chapter and the next, and possibly the next after that one, are going to be full of the training and missions, but after that I get to the Wave arc.

And boy, do I have some twists for that one. Muahahahahaha…

One last thing: I know that Chaos666 is having comp issues, but I hope I see more from him by the time I've caught up to where his story is taking place right now at the end of his 18th chapter.

And now for the third installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate' forr this weekend, chapter 13!

* * *

It had been several days since the processing of the final documents of each jonin instructor for this year's graduating students. Rumors had been flying around for the few couple of days after the genin had been put into their squads.

* * *

The first was that Hyuuga Neji, the famed prodigy of the clan as well as legendary hard-ass, had become more hospitable around everyone aside from his former teammates. His outlook on life had improved a little bit, but what was more surprising was how he started changing when it came to his interactions with his cousins Hinata and Hanabi. 'It's strange, ever since being given this second chance to redemption, I feel somewhat… at peace with what happened. I must find a way to thank Kurenai sensei.'

* * *

Sakura was seen every morning running laps around the village walls, with large leg and arm weights covering her limbs. She had found out that one of Gai-san's former students had gone through the same personal training after becoming a real genin, so she had calmly asked for his assistance in starting her own program. When the mighty Second Green Beast first laid eyes on Sakura however, he soon found himself on the end of her fist after he had asked her to be his girlfriend.

Though she would never admit to it if asked, she did find it flattering that someone actually looked past her forehead and saw who she really was. 'But those damn eyebrows… Wonder if he would be willing to at least trim them if I agreed to go out with him? And it's not like Sasuke is ever going to notice me, especially after what happened.'

* * *

Kiba was determined to learn to overcome his habitual tendencies and prove that he could become the student Kurenai expected him to be. After that training spar, he had started getting small lessons on anger management from his older sister Hana, who just reveled in the fact that her little brother was finally coming to her for help. 'I wish there was another way, but at least I know she won't hang it over my head very often…'

* * *

Sakura, as well as the rest of the new genin minus Choji, were all shocked to have found out that Sasuke and Ino had both been failed by Genma and they both decided to return to the Academy rather than be normal people with some ninja training. Sasuke had no choice, despite the council's incessant attempts to forge official documents bearing forged Hokage seals stating that Sasuke was to be given the title of chunin for his apparent skill that rivaled some of his teachers. 'I will get that asshole back for doing this to me. But first, I must kill _Itachi_…'

* * *

Ino was in the same predicament as Sasuke was, after having failed the test given by Genma. But her thoughts were constantly focused on the fact that she had failed in her goal to be on a team with Sasuke-kun. Her parents were none too pleased with the test results, and had even tried to force Genma to change the situation, but were shot down as they were handed a copy of the official documents that were filled out and finalized by Sarutobi himself. 'Oh Sasuke-kun, I wish I could have proven myself to you…'

* * *

Choji was enjoying his time learning under Genma. They had started doing D-rank missions the day after the test, and Choji was already starting to change both physically and mentally. He could now be found always with a senbon needle hanging limply from his mouth unless he was eating. Another thing that changed was Choji's constant eating habits: no longer did he carry a seemingly endless supply of snacks, but he now instead devoured meals that would be able to feed ten people in one sitting. 'Man, this is so much easier. And somewhat cheaper too!'

* * *

Naruto surprised every villager that looked at him since the day he had passed Asuma's challenge with his teammates. After much coaxing and threatening from Hinata, and some 'persuasion' from her father, Naruto finally decided it was time to destroy the abomination of a wardrobe that consisted solely of 'kill me now!' orange jumpsuits. In their place, he now had a supply just as large of black cargo pants and crimson shirts, each shirt having the orange swirl he loved on the end of the right sleeve. He wore black fingerless gloves and his hitai-ite was now around his chest, from left shoulder to right hip, with a somewhat large cargo pouch hanging off it as the symbol plate was sitting on his shoulder. 'Man, I'm so glad that I listened to Hina-chan and her father about this change. This look is so much cooler!'

* * *

Hinata had for her own part also changed her wardrobe to match that of her official boyfriend's new look. Her large beige jacket that hid her well-developed body was now replaced with a long vest that went to just above her knees. Her shirt was replaced by a purple tank top underneath semi-see through mesh shirt over that, and she too also wore black cargo pants. The hitai-ite she had received still rested around her neck, but was now more like a choker than a dog-collar, which sent Kiba into a frenzy after he had heard of the developments between her and Naruto. What was a real shock to her, was when her father had talked to her the night after her team had defeated Asuma's challenge.

"_Hinata, may I speak with you for a moment in my study?"_

_Hinata had not noticed that her father was beside her until he spoke, causing her to jump and let out an 'eep' of surprise. "Y-yes otou-san, I will be there after I put away my things."_

_Hiashi nodded, and made his way down the hall and down the stairs to the first floor and his study. Hinata was worried. Never in the years after her mother had died in child birth had her father spoken with such… softness in his voice. He mostly talked down to her, especially during her training spars with her little sister and older cousin. But the tone in his voice was almost as if he were about to… cry?_

_Dropping her equipment and clothes off in her room, she then slowly made her way down to where Hiashi had his office. Knocking once, the voice of her father instructed her to come in. Hinata closed the door softly behind her and sat before her father, noticing that there was no Branch family members inside or out the study._

"_Y-you wanted to speak with me otou-san?" she asked tentatively. She was nervous at what could be the reason for this apparent change in her father's demeanor._

_He closed his eyes and sighed. "Hinata, I am proud of you."_

_It took moments to sink in, but when Hinata finally realized what had just happened, she nearly fainted from the shock. "T-thank you…"_

"_But it's more than just passing the test Asuma-san had your team take. I'm also talking about the decision you came to years ago." Hiashi sat calmly as his daughter gave him a confused look. "The decision you made about whom you wanted to be with."_

_Promptly, the blood flow in her entire body seemed to be redirected straight to her face as she turned to look away from him._

"_There is no need to be ashamed of your feelings, or of the relationship you now are in Hinata. I know full well of your feelings for the Uzumaki, and also of your recently confirmed relationship with him," Hiashi said, opening his eyes to reveal compassion to her, something that had not been seen in those eyes since Hanabi was born. "It may have seemed as if I wanted to put you into an arranged marriage, but I truly do not, as that was the last wish of your late mother: for you to seek and achieve your own happiness. Though the elders of the Hyuuga clan may try to impose such a thing, they truthfully cannot do it."_

"_In our clan, there is an old stipulation when it comes to the last words of a clan head or their spouse. These last words are to be treated as if they were the law of the clan itself, and no one is permitted to interfere in any way shape or form. To prevent the enactment of the final words of a leader of the clan, is to insult the clan itself." Hiashi cleared his throat, wiping some tears that threatened to fall. "And the last words your mother said, were for you to be happy in your life, in your own way. And she knew of your affections towards Naruto, ever since you had first seen him in the park those years ago."_

_Though a majority of the blood resumed to flow through the rest of her body, Hinata's face was still slightly pink from this turn of events. 'Does this mean… that he __**approves**__ of my choices?'_

"_Hinata, you may not know it yet, but that boy is from a great family, possibly greater than our own. But he is the last one, and if it were to get out about his ancestors, then there would be a flood of proposals to him in order to revive that clan. I will not divulge the clan's name, but I will let you know this: if you truly want to be with him, I will fully support your decision. Though you will have to pass the title of clan heir to Hanabi upon an engagement announcement, as a clan head cannot take the role of marrying into one clan while staying clan head of her first clan." Hiashi smiled. "But I'm sure that you would gladly give up your title for the chance to be truly happy."_

_Hinata beamed as she leapt up and glomped her father in appreciation, knocking him onto the floor. She released him and helped him up, but saw the mood change as he regained his composure. "There is, however, one stipulation that must be met before your relationship continues."_

Needless to say, things had proven to be a lot better now that her father had finally started to break out of his cold shell, and Hinata was very happy for that.

* * *

Shikamaru was unaffected by everything as he just spent his small amount of free time watching the clouds, sometimes joined by Asuma. Asuma never admitted it, but Shikamaru reminded him a lot of himself as a young genin, except that the Nara was even lazier and a brilliant tactician.

* * *

After his initial encounter with Sakura at her request for supplemental training, Rock Lee had often been seen training with her during his early mornings and spare time, showing her the 'power of youth' he held so dear. Despite the constant shoot-downs at his attempts to court her, Lee was determined to break through her shell and show her the real him. 'Oh Gai-sensei, you would be proud of how I'm fairing, and how my determination is paying off!'

* * *

Shino kept his eyes and ears open at all times, checking with his spy kikaichu he had dispersed throughout the village. He had started keeping tabs on his fellow rookies, and was amused at the antics his lookouts gave him upon their return to the colony his body housed. 'Seems as if things were about as normal as possible, given the circumstances of the jonin-instructors' tests.'

* * *

Raven and Shino had started hanging around more often together, inside and out of their training and small chore missions. He was surprised when they had first fought to see their true abilities. When his bugs moved in to devour the chakra she had imbued into her blood and applied to her scythe, the bugs would immediately explode, thus leaving the poison she had created on the blade. 'Seems he never took the time to factor in that my poison is the result of a kekkei genkai, not a normal jutsu or simple herbalism.'

* * *

Ten-Ten had found the chasing sessions with Anko and her summon Raijin very similar to the lap routines that she had been used to with Gai. She was glad that Anko never used Raijin to chase her, but was still upset that her sensei would only refer to her as 'Panda-chan' and would always greet Daisuke as 'Tasty-kun' while slicing his cheek and licking it. 'I swear, if Anko-sensei doesn't stop I'm going to report her for suspected child abuse and sexual misconduct with a minor!'

* * *

Daisuke was overall enjoying the exercise with Anko-sensei, despite the fact she always seemed to work him harder than Ten-Ten in her use of Raijin as incentive to move his ass. The first time his cousin and the other three from Ankokugakure witnessed her training methods, Amanda erupted in small blush fits similar to how he had noted Hinata used to when in close proximity to Naruto. 'I wonder if she's gonna…'

* * *

"So Kakashi, it seems as if you realized what I was implying at the graduation exam," the Hokage said, taking a puff of his pipe.

Kakashi sighed as he resisted the urge to pull out his orange book. "Yes, after having given a varied version of my test, as well as the lecture that Gai," glaring at the man in the ugliest outfit ever, "gave to my students, I saw that you were trying to say."

"And that would be what, my eternal rival?" Gai asked, with a pose that yelled 'I'm thinking but I'm still as full of youth as ever!' and a glint sparkling in his eye.

The one-eyed jonin sighed, closing his eyes as he admitted his statement. "That focusing on just one student out of a team of three and ignoring the other two only leads to problems down the line."

Nodding, Sarutobi put his pipe down and looked at the two jonin before him. "Very good Kakashi. You have redeemed yourself, just as Gai has for such tendencies. Though Gai didn't so far as to actually single out Lee in his training, it was still focused more towards Lee than either Neji or Ten-Ten."

"I still wish that Sasuke had been put into squad seven, instead of on Genma-san's squad," Kakashi said. "By chance is the rumor of him actually sending back only Ino and Sasuke to the Academy are true?"

"Yes, it seemed to Genma that both Sasuke and Ino were unfit to proceed at this time with becoming official genin of this village. So, in his full rights, he dismissed both students from his team and sent them off with the choice of civilian living or returning to the Academy," the old man said, stroking his chin. "Though I'm surprised at how well Sasuke is taking this, and the fact that Ino's parents tried to force matters with the council didn't help her at all."

Kakashi nodded, having heard of the council meeting the night that the tests had been administered.

"Now, Kakashi, to help you further your attempts to right the wrongs you almost committed, I am going to be giving you some additional help."

The Copy Cat ninja froze at this, knowing something was up. "And who would that be, Hokage-sama?" 'Please no, please no, not him, anyone else but him.

Before the Hokage could answer, the mood in the air changed as Gai stepped forward and gave off his 'nice-guy pose', complete with eye-sparkle and blinding full-tooth smile. "I, your eternal rival Might Gai, shall be your fellow jonin instructor for the next three months Kakashi!"

Kakashi slumped his head down, defeated. "This is just great."

"No need to worry Kakashi. Gai will be helping you to realize and understand your presumptions and what would have happened had you been given Sasuke to train. Gai himself had found the path without knowing it after Lee, Neji and Ten-Ten had been assigned to him," the Hokage responded. "And don't worry, Gai won't interfere with your training of them as long as he doesn't see anything that entails what I had informed you of earlier."

"And if your team has started in on missions that lead outside the village before the time is up, you won't have to worry about my presence. I will stay back and remain unnoticed unless a drastic event happens. In which case, I would instantly appear and assist in any way possible!" Gai announced, strengthening his 'hero' pose.

Boht Kakashi and the Hokage sighed. A train of thought ran through both their minds as Gai left the room through a hole and yelled, "DYNAMIC DEPARTURE!"

'Thank Kami-sama he's only tainted **one** genin with that poisonous attitude and sense of fashion…'


	15. Of Clones and Ramen

Disclaimer:

Ok, from now on, just refer to the preface; I'm tired of writing this crap all the time haha.

* * *

Notes: Okay, today brings you this, the 4th installment, and hopefully the 5th installment shortly before midnight tonight. Otherwise, expect to see another eight chapters after this one up before Saturday next weekend.

Now comes the fun stuff; individual team training and missions! I won't bore you at this point with many ramblings, but just so you know I've taken on the habit of waiting to start my next chapter until I've gotten at least one review up for the chapter I just release. This lets me know that at least is going to inform me of their opinion of my hard work.

Today's second installment, 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate' chapter 14!

* * *

Asuma watched on as his students got to work with their fifth D-rank mission since the graduation. Today, they were having to repair the training ground that Anko and her students always used, alongside said team itself.

"Hey Shikamaru, get off your lazy ass and help us already!" Daisuke called over to the cloud-watcher, and watched as Ten-Ten flicked a kunai with an explosive tag at the branch Shikamaru was laying on. The branch blew away from the tree and to the ground, lazy genin still on it.

He landed with a _thump_ and stood up, glaring at the two of them as Naruto and Hinata chuckled to themselves.

"Troublesome couples…" And with that, Shikamaru did some hand signs and sighed as his shadow split into two. Both ends of his split shadow went over to a log that was on its side, and easily picked it up, levering it into the hole that the others had just finished digging. He was sweating slightly as he released the jutsu, a reward for the amount of effort needed to perform the lifting even through his shadow manipulation.

"Troublesome logs." The lazy Nara genius proceeded to sit under the tree and wait for his fellow genin to request his help with the last two logs.

"Geez Daisuke, how come you and Ten-Ten are always tearing this place up so fast? I don't think that even I could put that much effort into my training. I mean, look at how much Asuma-sensei acts like Shika!" Naruto called out, heaving his shovel into the ground and scooping out dirt from the hole he and Hinata were working on.

"Don't blame us, blame our crazy sensei. She's the one that demands we spend most of the morning increasing our stamina and evasion by having Raijin chase us," Ten-Ten responded, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "At least it's already starting to pay off. I never got this much improvement while being on Gai-sensei's team."

They went back to work on preparing the last holes for the new logs, and Shikamaru used his Shadow Manipulation to move each log in. They settled behind one at noon, taking a small break. They still had to make the field something of a level grade before they could call it a day, but at least the hard part was done.

Anko made her appearance just before the group got back to work. "Good job so far, maggots. I'm impressed that you were able to get the new logs into place already."

Daisuke gripped his tonfa in his trench vest pockets, replying, "What do you expect sensei? We're just that damn good."

Ten-Ten noticed the small twitch in Anko's right sleeve as a kunai was about to appear in her hand. "Duck Dai-kun!" she said, pulling out her own kunai as their sensei whipped the kunai out of her hand and towards Daisuke. Before she could deflect the kunai flying towards her boyfriend, Daisuke reached out and blocked it with the tonfa he carried in his left pocket.

"Nice try sensei, but after examining you during our training, I've noticed your mannerisms that signal you're about to do something," Daisuke said, twirling the tonfa with ease.

"Hmph. Just because you've picked up on some of my habits doesn't mean you will get to learn all of the signs so soon, _Tasty-kun_," she smirked, licking her lips.

Daisuke shuddered at seeing her do that. 'Damn, how does she always make me shiver when she does that? If Ten-chan figured out how, then I would just be putty in her masterful hands.' Daisuke started to blush slightly as he thought back to the night of the day after they graduated, when Daisuke found that Ten-Ten was learning from some nurses at the hospital about shiatsu and how to do it correctly. 'Oh how grateful I am to those nurses.'

Anko noticed the blush and took the opening to exact her revenge for being denied. Her kunai flew true and whizzed past Daisuke's cheek. Amidst the group she then appeared and started to lick his cheek, lapping up the blood. Shikamaru just sat back down, muttering about troublesome women. Naruto turned away as Hinata paled at the display.

Ten-Ten on the other hand was containing herself as best she could before she was about to snap. Calmly, she reached into a holster and pulled out a kunai and was about to throw it, but then Asuma stepped in and placed a napkin on Daisuke's cheek, pushing Anko's face away with some effort.

"Anko, you know better than that. Just be glad that none of his superiors are here to see this," he said calmly. Anko scoffed at him and turned away. "You know, I think that one of his superiors is attracted to you…" he said as he walked back to where he was supervising the repair crew.

Anko's eyes twitched at this comment. "Oh, and who would you think it is?" she said, her eyebrows rising up with a threatening sneer crossing her face. This then led into Asuma ignoring her and her berating him for more information.

Naruto and Daisuke noticed the situation having escalated, and started to whisper to each other. When they shook hands, Ten-Ten and Hinata looked at the two boys with puzzled looks. Before they could speak, Daisuke put his finger to his lips for silence, and he faced Naruto again.

Naruto smirked and nodded, and they formed the hand signs and whispered, "Shadow Clone jutsu." In a quiet poof there now stood four Naruto clones and three Daisuke clones. Two Naruto clones stayed the same as the other two turned into Shikamaru and Hinata, while one of the Daisuke clones turned into Ten-Ten.

Quickly giving silent orders to the clones, the original Naruto and Daisuke grabbed their girlfriends' wrists and ran off, while one of the Naruto clones nudged Shikamaru softly and pointed at the group leaving the scene unnoticed. He took it as a sign to get the hell out of there as he noticed the group of transformed clones proceeding to do the last bit of the mission for the day.

Shikamaru nodded as he silently walked away, then leapt through the trees to catch up to his teammates. "About damn time Shika!" Naruto called out.

"Those two are so troublesome sometimes." Shikamaru was paying little attention to the others, and passed right past them as they emerged from the small forest between the training ground and the outer streets of the village. He continued on his way, narrowly dodging past other ninja using the rooftops to move, heading for his preferred cloud-watching place.

"Man, that guy can be so single-minded sometimes," Naruto mused as Hinata attached herself to his arm. "You guys wanna grab some ramen or something?"

Ten-Ten looked at Daisuke. "How bout it, Dai-kun? We didn't really get anything for breakfast today, and we haven't had lunch yet either."

"Sure, might as well," Daisuke said, offering his arm out. "Ready?"

Ten-Ten gladly took his arm and moved in closer as they walked alongside Naruto and Hinata. They all ignored the stares and looks the villagers gave them, first because of the fact that the 'demon brat' was so close to the Hyuuga heiress and then that a 'damn Westerner' was an official genin while the precious Uchiha was sent back to the Academy.

Upon reaching Ichiraku's Ramen, the group took their usual spots at the counter and waited. Well, everyone but Naruto waited that is.

"Hey, aneue! We're here!" he yelled out.

There was a moment in which the two girls were about to bonk Naruto on the head for his impatience, but then a girl with brown hair pulled back by a hat similar to a nurse's hat stepped out. "Hey there otouto, was wondering when you were going to come get your daily ramen!" Her smile eased the tension from Ten-Ten and Hinata as Daisuke smirked.

"Just snuck away from our two senseis that got into a big bicker over something," Naruto said, not mentioning what caused the whole fiasco. "So we decided to come and get some lunch before we go hang out for the rest of the day while our clones finish the mission."

"Two pork, one miso, one beef, and three shrimp ramen please, Ayame-san," Daisuke said as he pulled out enough cash for the meal and paid up front. Looking quickly at Naruto, he said, "Naruto, after those two pork ramen you're on your own if you want more. You should think about slowing down while you eat."

"Meanie," Naruto pouted, with Hinata giggling and patting him on the head.

"Hey, last time I offered to pay for your ramen habits I nearly lost all my winnings from poker the night before, that one time where I actually managed to beat all the jonin," Daisuke countered.

Ten-Ten shuddered, remembering how Naruto had somehow sat down and eaten thirteen bowls of ramen at one time. "I don't know how people can eat so much ramen in one sitting. I could hardly finish off two bowls, and that's after a hard day of training."

The bowls were placed before each person, Naruto with his pork, Hinata had her miso, Ten-Ten started to eat her beef ramen slowly, and Daisuke devoured his first bowl of shrimp ramen before Naruto was even halfway done with his. "At least you could offer me a third bowl, since you got three for yourself," Naruto said as he pointed his chopsticks at the Ankokugakure genin.

"Be happy I'm paying for your food at all heh," Daisuke said, shaking a bit of curry powder into his second bowl.

Ayame came out after a while and took the dirty bowls, and put the coins Daisuke had put up into the register. By the time Daisuke had finished his last bowl, Naruto placed his chopsticks down and shoved away his empty second bowl. "Man, eating slowly really does fill you up faster. But I still don't know how it is you eat faster than I do Daisuke."

"Simple. I'm just surprised you never noticed it before."

Naruto took on his thinking pose, then spoke. "Hey, I just noticed that I never see you slurp your ramen. Why is that?"

"There you go, you finally figured it out." Daisuke held up his empty bowl and angled it so as to make moisture gather at one point in the bottom. "After I first found this place, I talked with Teuchi about putting in the option of getting the broth drained from my ramen. The water is just empty weight to me, and it also allows for more noodles and extra stuff per bowl. So, not only am I eating faster than you, but I'm also eating more than you."

Naruto lost control of his jaw as he learned that every time there was a ramen-off between the two of them, despite Naruto eating more bowls, his friend actually put away more ramen.

Before anything else could be said, Daisuke and Naruto froze.

"Shit, they finally got calmed down and realized we've left." Naruto said.

"SCATTER!" Daisuke said as the four of them ran out of the ramen stand. Each of them parted ways after hearing they had been found out.

* * *

"Just like them to utilize our squabbling as enough of a distraction to replace themselves with Daisuke and Naruto's Shadow Clones," Asuma said out loud. He looked through the corner of his eye at Anko, and could immediately see that she had switched to 'sadistic Anko' mode, noted by the look in her eyes and constant lip-licking, her hands fidgeting with kunai hidden in her sleeves.

'Oh this is going to get ugly **real **fast,' Asuma thought to himself. "I'll go after my three genin, while you go after your 'Tasty-kun' and 'Panda-chan', okay?"

Anko simply nodded as she fell behind Asuma and stopped on a firm tree branch. Asuma knew what was going on, and decided to first go and grab Shikamaru.

Anko sliced her thumb with the tip of a kunai and slammed her hand down onto the branch, calling out the summoning jutsu. Immediately, Raijin appeared, seeming frustrated.

"What is it now, Anko? I was in the middle of something." The tone of voice portrayed irritation Raijin was facing.

"It's my students again Raijin. This time, they skipped out of a mission on me!"

"Fine, lets go and get them." Thus the great genin hunt by snakes started yet again.


	16. Work & Play

Notes: Okay kiddies, this is the fifth installment for the weekend. I just need to pull some threads and this should be appearing by 11:59pm Sunday PST.

So the two teams had a joint mission last chapter, and showed a bit of their ingenuity. They even outsmarted their senseis long enough to get some lunch before they got noticed. Now comes the start of the Wave arc.

Glad you guys enjoyed the changes I've made to the canon already, and the changes are going to start becoming bigger with this and the next chapter. Believe me, they will.

Without a further adieu, I present 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate' chapter 14!

* * *

"Alright, Smoky here: report your status."

"Pearl here, in position, target not in sight."

"Fox here, no sign of the target yet."

"Shadow here, I just spotted the target in the bushes not far from me."

"Alright, Pearl, Fox, circle around and get into position four around the target."

"Roger that smoky/Yeah yeah."

Rustling was heard in the trees as Naruto and Hinata moved to be ffacing the space that Shikamaru had reported from, and were watching the bushes between the three of them for any movement. The three of them intently watched as a cat with black fur and a bell attached to a red collar jumped out and looked around.

"Target has emerged, repeat Target has emerged."

"Copy. Proceed with capture process."

"Copy that, Smoky."

Before the cat had time to react, Hinata and Naruto jumped out of their hiding spots and flanked the cat, Shikamaru meanwhile prepared his signature jutsu to restrain the cat.

The cat freaked out as the two people on either side of it moved slowly. It had enough of them and moved to vacate, but its legs were unable to move. It was in total confusion as to why it couldn't move, and didn't understand why its shadow was connecting with a tree and running up a tree behind it.

Naruto laughed as Hinata gingerly picked up the cat as Shikamaru released the jutsu and dropped down. "Troublesome cat, this is the eighth time this week that we've had to retrieve it for that obnoxious woman."

Asuma slowly came out of the trees and shook his head, the peanut brittle stick wiggling from his mouth. "At least we get it easy with Shikamaru here. Otherwise, we would have a much harder time catching this thing."

"What should we do now?" Hinata asked, calming the cat down.

"I'll go and turn in the mission, you guys go and train or something. You've earned some break time before I get us our next mission." Asuma took the cat from Hinata and looked it over. "Good, it's got that mark on the ear. This is Tora for sure."

"Better be, after all that damn work we've done!" Naruto said, puffing his cheeks out.

Hinata giggled and latched onto his arm, dragging him back to the village as Shikamaru followed behind them. Asuma went in another direction, purring Tora in hand as he returned to the Hokage Tower.

"Hey, I'll see you guys later. I'm gonna go home and cloud-watch from the roof." With that said, Shikamaru stepped into the shadow of a building and disappeared, having used the Shadow Travel jutsu he had shown to them after he returned from Ankokugakure.

Naruto looked at the spot where their teammate disappeared and sighed. "It's gonna take some getting used to, what with him being able to do that."

"Just means we get to have our privacy sooner, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, leaning up to him and licking his ear. This sent shivers up and down his spine.

"S-so, where do you want to go, Hina-chan?" he asked, looking all around to make sure there weren't any unwanted audiences. They had learned that despite Hinata's presence, there were still people stupid enough to come and try to mob him these days, drunk or not.

She pulled him away from the city and deeper into the forest, farther away from the gates. "I k-know this nice little spot, by a b-big waterfall where we can enjoy ourselves."

* * *

Sasuke laid down on the futon in his room, the only place he kept clean aside from the kitchen and bathroom of his now abandoned home in the nearly abandoned Uchiha complex. He was fed up and tired of the fact that he, of all the genin candidates, had been sent back to the Academy just because the fat ass Akimichi had cheated somehow. He still had no proof. 'Why the hell is he even allowed to be here, after he became a traitor and trained for the last two years over in a western village? He and that Nara bastard should be deemed traitors and have bounties on their heads.'

To say that Sasuke hated Choji and Shikamaru, as well as all the other people that had come from Ankokugakure in the last two or so years wasn't even close to the problem. He had developed a hatred for them almost as much as he had for his brother Itachi. Amongst all the students he had trained at the Academy with, he most of all hated Naruto and Daisuke.

'It was all Daisuke and that bitch Raven's faults that Ino and Sakura started to really chase me, after their first appearance those two years ago. Them and their damned use of the substitution!' He had hated the fact that the simple gawking and giggling had evolved into a monstrous mob after the incident where Kiba had provoked the blonde and pink haired kunoichi, and rushed straight into the two students from the Darkness Village, causing them to switch places with him and Naruto.

'Naruto…'

Sasuke had been able to deal with Naruto for a while, before the two exchange students entered their Academy. Hell, he and Naruto had almost been friends until the massacre of his clan at the hands of his brother, and how it shocked him into what he was now. But things had changed when Naruto had gotten to know Daisuke and Raven. Sasuke was actually going to start befriending Naruto again, but then they had come in and taken away the possibility.

Naruto had given the two from Ankoku a good description of each student of the class that first day, and had made Sasuke look like a complete ad total jackass to them. After that day, Naruto started to hang around Daisuke and Raven, playing pranks with their help and pulled a few on Sasuke especially.

'I wish we could have been brothers, Naruto, instead of my bastard of a brother Itachi…' Sasuke had always noticed the way villagers treated Naruto, before his older brother ruined his life. He knew what it was like to be left out: his dad did that to him all the time while focusing solely on his older brother. Sasuke had finally gotten up the courage to talk to his father about possibly adopting Naruto into the family, but when he got home, he had found the handiwork of his brother everywhere.

'Naruto, I wish things could have been different. We could have helped each other out…' Sasuke was now on his side, thinking of all the times he had seen Daisuke and Naruto acting like he had wished to for so long, to have someone his own age to interact with and understand things. Only Naruto had that ability, as both of them were singled out of the crowd but in different directions. But all of Sasuke's hopes had been stained when Daisuke had helped Naruto pull their first joint prank, and the target had been him.

Sasuke buried his head in the pillow, attempting to drown out the memory so that it wouldn't be the only thing on his mind while he slept restlessly throughout the night.

'I have to get stronger… To kill my brother, and then Daisuke. I need to avenge my clan, and I need to avenge my pride and broken dreams…' With that, Sasuke succumbed to the uneventful sleep that carried him from the afternoon into the darkness.

* * *

Ino was regretting her decision to redo the Academy after failing Genma's test. Her parents had not been disappointed in her results, but were furious with the fact that the Hokage would not overturn the decision of the jonin instructor. Her life had become so much harder since then, her parents drilling everything they could into her head day after day, whenever she wasn't back at the Academy.

'I just wish that something would go right…'

Many of Ino's friends had lost interest in her after hearing that she had failed the test, after all the boasting and bragging she had done. They made fun of her and said that Sakura was now going to win over Sasuke's heart for herself, leaving Ino to grow old and lonely in her parents' flower shop.

'But it may not be too bad; after all I get to learn more of the family jutsu just to make sure I pass next year. And now I don't have Sakura around to fight with, or Sasuke to fight over.'

Ino hated the feelings she had been feeling lately. She used to get a fluttering sensation in her stomach every time she would see Sasuke, but lately it was as if she was outgrowing her affections. 'Maybe chasing Sasuke was just a waste of time? Did I really want him, or just the title of being with him?'

Ino brought herself out of her introspection as a customer entered the store, making note to think more on that last subject later. She stood straight and greeted the incoming business with a smile and recited her greeting. "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, is there anything I can help you with specifically?"

* * *

Daisuke and Ten-Ten wandered around the village for a while, until they found themselves passing the Hyuuga compound. A thought hit Ten-Ten, and pulled on Daisuke's sleeve.

"Hey Dai-kun, would you like to meet my former teammate, Hinata's cousin Neji?" she asked, prepared to give the feared 'Puppy-dog-eyes jutsu' to get her way.

He looked at the guards, and pointed. "What about the Branch family guards?"

She smiled and answered, "Don't worry about them, they know me well enough. And since you bear the hitai-ite of a foreign village, they won't give you much trouble as long as you behave."

"Hey," he shot back, "you're the one that almost got us into trouble for necking in front of the Hokage Tower last week while waiting for Anko-sensei to meet up with us."

She smiled innocently and replied, "But it takes two to tango, _Tasty-kun_." She licked his nose for emphasis.

Daisuke was again thankful for his cousin giving him the sunglasses; otherwise, Ten-Ten would have seen his eyes bug out when she used Anko's nickname for him. Getting rid of the goose bumps quickly, he sighed. "Alright, just remember that I have yet to formally meet these people, and you only get one first impression. So I gotta make this one count."

Again she smiled innocently and led him into the compound. The guards looked at them for a minute until they saw who it was. They then recognized the foreign symbol on Daisuke's headband and they bowed somewhat formally, treating him as if he were an ambassador.

"Is Neji-san around, do either of you know?" Ten-Ten asked the guards.

"One moment please, Ten-Ten, I'll go look." With that, the guard on the left jogged into the compound and disappeared into the dojo. A few minutes later and the guard came back, Neji not far behind.

When Neji turned and took a look at the gate, he froze. 'So the rumors were true…'

He developed a slightly sad look on his face as he approached the pair at the gate, noting of how Ten-Ten was hanging onto the foreign genin's arm and that they had their fingers intertwined. 'I just have to remember what Kurenai-sensei said: I must show all people the same amount of respect I wish to be shown, and everything will turn out fine.'

"Hello Ten-Ten. I see you have brought someone with you," he said, inclining his head slightly to Daisuke.

Daisuke lightly pried the weapons mistress from his arm and bowed to Neji, introducing himself. "My name is Daisuke Hyota, genin shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Darkness to the west. It is an honor to meet a friend of Ten-chan's finally."

Neji stiffened momentarily as he heard the tone the younger boy used in saying '-chan': it was unnerving to Neji. Despite how everyone looked at him and praised him, comparing him to a Main house family member, no one seemed to think Neji could have emotions like everyone else.

Many times had he attempted to break out of the stereo type that he was held in, not just by being a Hyuuga, but also by something that ran deeper than the branding he received at a young age. Many of his struggles to break free of the emotionless husk he appeared to be were attempts to get the attention of his former teammate, the girl that he now saw standing before him, hand-in-hand with nothing but a mere barbaric westerner. He had hoped that the rumors had merely been stupid gossip when he first heard that she had been seen a few days after the make-up graduation exam sitting on a bench with this younger boy.

But now, he saw for the first time the truth behind the rumors. And it tore his heart in two.

"Is there anything I can do for the two of you? If not, then I'm sorry but I must get back to my training regimen for the day," he lied through his teeth. He just wanted to run somewhere and figure out his feelings, seeing the girl he had grown up with and trained with under Gai-sensei now being with someone that he thought was not near worthy of her affections.

"We were going to see if you wanted to come train with us, but if you were in the middle of something, maybe another time." Ten-Ten and the younger genin bowed to him and made their way out of sight of the compound.

Before either of the guards could say anything, Neji ran back into the house.

* * *

The sun was setting, and people were making their way home to enjoy time with those they lived with before each of them let the tired feelings of the day's work overtake them. Two couples met at an intersection in the village, greeted each other softly, and then the two couples became a pair and two singles. The girls heading to their separate homes and the boys jogging over the rooftops back to their apartments next to each other.

Each girl was in bliss after their time spent with their boyfriends, each one hoping that they would always be able to know the soft embrace of their beloveds. Each boy recounted the day's events to the other after they had departed from their building that morning.

* * *

Unknownst to them all, a young man was watching everything going on in the village from his vantage point atop the Hokage Mountain. He pushed his glasses up his face as he leapt off the mountain and landed softly onto the first rooftop, then made his way across the village and came to a stop at the gates to the empty and barren Uchiha complex.

'Now to see what Orochimaru-sama is so interested in…'

* * *

Drippings from the demonic ink jar I call home-

MUAHAHAHAHAHA! I DID IT! 5 chapters in less than 48 hours! But now that I've gotten this far, what's stopping me from trying to still do those additional 8 by next Saturday? We'll see! Ja ne!


	17. Entering the Bloody Tapestry

Notes: Woot, I had actually met my goal to complete those five chapters, unlike Lee and Gai who alsways end up overshooting their abilities to the next level.

Now by the time you guys are reading this, I will have gotten enough of you interested and have given 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate' over 5k hits! Thanks you guys, and also to those of you marking this in your lists. Gotta thank the reviewers, without you guys things wouldn't have progressed this far, this fast.

This chapter marks the beginning of the real good stuff, first with the Wave Arc. So far, the score on Haku's gender is 3 for girl, one for boy, and one undecided. So, as it stands, Haku will be a girl in this fanfic.

Well, that's all from this ink demon, so on with today's installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 16!

* * *

Asuma was sitting on the railing of the bridge that crossed a river just outside the village, waiting with an old man drinking a bottle of booze. 'Where could those lazy gaki be? I made sure they all got up at dawn for this mission…'

"Hey, where is this 'team' of yours anyway? Any longer and I will die from old age before a bandit uses my neck to test out his knife," said the old man, taking a large swig from his bottle.

Asuma sighed, wishing that his team hadn't forced him to wager his smoking for a year if they beat him. 'What I wouldn't give for a cigarette right now.' Before he could reminisce about the smell of his favorite 'Golden Leaf' brand, he noticed a shape form from the shadows of a tree on the forest side of the river.

"Troublesome, having to wake up for a mission directly at dawn," Shikamaru said as he covered a yawn. He shook his head slightly, noting that his teammates hadn't shown up yet.

"Where is all your equipment Shikamaru?" Asuma asked, eyebrow raised when he noticed nothing but a pouch similar to what Naruto had started using hanging off his left hip.

The shadow user gently patted the pouch, answering, "I got everything I will need in storage scrolls right here. Less bothersome this way than a damn oversized pack."

Asuma nodded, while the old man was about to retort at seeing a wet-behind-the-ear gaki as a member of his defense, he noticed a shy girl approach the bridge and stop in front of the jonin.

"G-good morning, Asuma-sensei. S-sorry I took so long, I just had to stop at Naruto-kun's to make sure he would be on time," came the soft voice of the Hyuuga heiress. Asuma greeted her with a nod, the peanut brittle stick wagging back and forth in his mouth as he waited for the last member of the squad to show up.

"Geez, what kind of ninja does this village make? A kid who pops out of shadows and a shy girl that seems would rather spend her time reading love stories are ninjas? What's next, a kid wearing a jump suit that screams out his location and plays pranks?"asked the flustered drunkard.

Shikamaru sighed in response as Hinata glared at the old man. As the jonin was about to say something to that end, they all turned in the direction of the village upon hearing a loud explosion.

"COME HERE TASTY-KUN! I'M GONNA GET YOU THIS TIME!"

"SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITDAMMITALLTOHELL!"

The two genin sweatdropped as Asuma simply let out another sigh.

"Seems Anko-sensei decided to get her team all stretched out before they got here," Asuma said, nibbling on his candy stick. It had turned into the only thing that the students had let him replace his cigarettes with, and that was only to placate his oral fixation that he'd developed due to his smoking.

"Ano, w-what do you mean Asuma-sensei?" Hinata asked, scratching her head.

"The Hokage agreed to let me take you two and Naruto out on this C-rank mission on the condition that he also send out another team. At the time he didn't tell me who, but now I can see why."

'This is going to real interesting…' Asuma thought, remembering the last time having worked with Anko. One thing led to another and it was the mission that had gotten her the job as assistant to Morino Ibiki, head of Interrogation and Information for Konoha's ANBU.

"Just having one couple is enough, but two is going to be such a drag," Shikamaru said as he sat down against his tree. He closed his eyes and he faked falling asleep.

"Speaking of which, where is that nut-job of yours Hinata?"

"Naruto-kun should-" Hinata was saying, until a black and red blur came flying down the road at them and tackle-glomped Hinata. They both fell over, the blur now being a visible boy the same age as the other two.

'What the fuck kind of ninja does this village breed?' the old drunk thought to himself.

Asuma coughed, grabbing the attention of his two students whom were prone on the ground. Hinata blushed red as a tomato as Naruto scrambled off her and scratched the back of his head and gave off a trademarked 'foxy' grin.

"Just remember to keep it under wraps while we're traveling. You can do the whole public-display-of-affection thing on a toned-down level when we get to Wave, and during off-duty hours, but not while we travel or on guard shifts, got it?" Asuma asked, glaring at the two of his students.

"Yeah yeah/Hai, Asuma-sensei," they said in unison.

Asuma got off the railing and nudged his students to the other side, followed by the drunk as he noted the rapid approach of a giant snake with three individuals on its head, making its way to the bridge.

"Don't you think you're overdoing the approach a bit Anko?" Asuma asked, not bothering to look at his fellow jonin.

"Not at all, especially since I had to go and wake up this gaki," she said, kicking the hogtied form of Daisuke off Raijin's head, "a few minutes ago."

Ten-Ten jumped off the snake summons and knelt down by the Darkness genin, using a kunai to slice the ropes off. She picked him up and slung him over her shoulder as the snake they had appeared on disappear. "Hey, it's not our fault we weren't told that we had a mission to be ready for at dawn, it's yours Anko-sensei."

Anko humphed at her students as she stood before the old man. "So you're the bridge builder Tazuna? What kind of bandit would want anything to do with a maggot like you?"

Tazuna glared at the scrutinizing woman and spat at her. "I'm the super bridge builder Tazuna, and I have to get back to my homeland to finish my latest work of art!"

"And you need shinobi from our village to protect you from mere bandits? This sounds kinda fishy to me," Naruto muttered, having remembered the instructions Asuma had given him an hour earlier when he'd come by to wake him up.

"Be that as it may Naruto," Asuma butted in, "it is now our job, along with those of Anko's team, to insure that Tazuna is safe until his bridge is complete." Naruto crossed his arms in a defiant show of 'alright, but I still don't have to like it'. Hinata giggled slightly as she kissed Naruto one last time on the cheek.

"Okay, after Daisuke is awake again, we can move out." Anko motioned for Ten-Ten to come to her. The weapon-mistress nodded, and stood before her sensei with her back facing the woman in the very revealing clothes.

Looking to both sides, she took Daisuke's face in one hand and a kunai in her other hand, and a wicked grin on her face. Quickly manipulation the kunai in hand, she nicked the corner of Daisuke's mouth and licked her lips. "This is gonna be fun." She flipped the kunai back up her sleeve, and took his head into both her hands and leaned in to lip the blood away.

Before she could make contact, Ten-Ten showed off her own smirk as she rotated Daisuke's limp form from her shoulder, up into the air and swiveled him to land on his back over Anko's shoulder. The sudden shift in weight and the unwanted momentum caused Anko to fall forward onto the ground with Daisuke laying on her back. Before Anko could get up, Ten-Ten knelt down and smothered Daisuke's mouth with her own.

Tazuna dropped his bottle in surprise at the sight before him. Shikamaru just shook his head as he took out a water bottle and sipped from it. Hinata blushed furiously at the sight, shaking her head as she tried to get the image of doing the same to Naruto sometime out of her mind. Naruto was howling like a wolf at the goings-on in front of him, and Asuma just sighed and nibbled more on his peanut brittle.

Daisuke returned to the world of the conscious as he squirmed for air, his arms flailing around trying to alert his captor to his awakening. Ten-Ten smiled evilly as she helped her boyfriend out in getting off their sensei. Said sensei was beyond mad at having her trick literally flipped around on her, and by her own kunoichi student no less.

"I will get both of you for this!" she yelled, and she signaled the giant snake that hadn't been dismissed itself yet. "C'mon Raijin, let's get started with that forward guard position, and give our students some experience in it as well."

Both students paled all across their bodies as their teacher, in all her sadistic glory, sat herself down cross-legged on the top of Raijin's head and pointed at them. "FORWARD, HO!"

Both students were barely able to get their legs started before the snake summon immediately threw itself onto the road in pursuit, thus leaving Tazuna with the team under Asuma to follow up behind.

"Alright you lot, let's get going and not let them get too far ahead of us." Asuma picked up his pack and slung it over his shoulder, leading the way as Shikamaru stood beside Tazuna as Hinata and Naruto stood side by side in the back, close enough to each without the need to hold hands.

* * *

Sasuke awoke to the sun shining into his face from his bedroom window. He turned and looked outside, noting that something was off. His senses alerted him to what exactly was off, but before he could grab the kunai under his pillow, there was a chill in the air surrounding him.

"I see you're finally awake, Uchiha-kun," said a cold voice, standing in the doorway. He turned and the only thing he saw was the pair of glasses on his face, reflecting the sunlight off them and preventing Sasuke from seeing the eyes beyond the lenses.

"No need to be so hasty. Especially since I took the pleasure of relieving you of your 'precautions'."

Sasuke grunted as he tried to get off his futon and lunge at the intruder, yet again surprised that he was bound by his wrists and ankles to the floor. "No need to worry, you will be released as soon as we've discussed a few things. After that, you will be given a decision, and from there things will proceed as they will. Sound fair?" the young man asked, sitting down out of Sasuke's reach.

"What do you want and why did you intrude on my clan grounds?" he spat, trying to get the advantage in the conversation.

"Me? I am merely here to convey the wishes and opportunities that my master is so graciously going to offer to you." Pushing up his glasses, he continued, "My master is someone very powerful among the world of the shinobi. His power is truly legendary, and of all the people he has heard of, Uchiha, he is willing to share with you a taste of this power."

"Why me though?"

"He has heard of your tragic past, and watched you over the last years, examining your emotions and recognizing what it is you seek in life."

Sasuke tensed at this. 'Watching me? How?'

The other smirked, continuing. "He knows you wish to avenge your clan, your parents, your mother. All killed by your older brother, Itachi."

Sasuke straight up froze, unable to take a breath as he soon found his body almost freezing in ice. '_Itachi_…'

"He also has seen that you had been longing for someone to call your own brother, after how your father had been so neglectful of you during the few years you and your parents lived in the same world. He saw how you had gathered the courage to confront your father, only to find him dead that very afternoon after returning from the Academy."

"He also saw how you were gathering up that same courage to start being friends with the very boy you had wanted to truly call brother, only to have a couple of kids from the Village Hidden in the Darkness come into your life and steal him away, tainting his mind against you."

Tears had started to form in Sasuke's eyes. This intruder was unraveling his deepest nightmares, showing them to him one by one, with just a casual tone and a smirk, eyes hidden behind those glasses.

"And that is what my master wishes to help you with: he will help you get revenge against your brother for what he did to your clan all those years ago, and then he will help you get back at those that had stolen your brother Naruto from you." The figure watched as the young boy in font of him broke down into a cascade of tears.

"Why me though?"

The figure smirked again. "Because, you can help my master as much as he is willing to help you."

Sasuke's mind was reeling at reliving all the horrible memories he had tried so hard to lock away, in hopes that they would stay away forever and leave him alone. Every time he relived each one, his mind started to consider and reconsider the offer that was being offered to him. 'But how do I know that I'll get what is being offered? I don't know this guy, nor do I even have a remote clue as to who his master is…'

The young man still sitting in the shadows watched as Sasuke went over the thoughts and ideas running in his mind, watching closely the facial expressions change every other moment. He smirked as he saw the boy before him raise his head and could see the ambition in his eyes.

"First, who are you, and who is your master? Can't work for someone if I don't even know their names."

"My name is Yakushi Kabuto, and our master is…"

"My name is Orochimaru, Sasuke-kun," came the end of the sentence from a man that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Sasuke turned his steeled gaze to the newcomer. "The Legendary Snake Sannin, nukenin of Konohagakure, Orochimaru…"

"You flatter me Sasuke-kun. I didn't know they taught about my status in the Academy, despite my once having graced this village with my brilliance years ago." The man stepped forward and into the light. His pale skin was almost see through, his long black hair hanging limply from his scalp and down his back to below his waist. His eyes were yellow and slit, such as the animal he was famous for summoning; purple lines accentuating the spaces under his eyes.

"I learned all about the shinobi in the bingo book from my father's copy of the Konoha ANBU listings," the raven-haired boy said, keeping his eyes focused on the two before him.

"So Sasuke, are you going to give us an answer now, or would you like some time to think it over?" Kabuto asked, eyes glancing back and forth between the boy and his master.

Sasuke closed his eyes and laughed. "Why wait? I've been held back from becoming a genin until next year, while my dear 'brother' and his 'friends' have all become genin and left me in the dust."

Orochimaru laughed out loud at the confirmation of him taking the offer. 'Good, good Sasuke-kun. You will get your revenge, and then you will get your brother. After that, you will then finish your duties to me…' "Good to hear that Sasuke-kun. I'm very glad that you are willing to destroy the ties that bind you so that you can leap into your destiny."

The young man with the glasses stood up and moved forward, unlocking the restraints on Sasuke's appendages. Sasuke stood up, flexing his wrists and ankles.

"Grab anything that you think may be of use to you here. I must be taking my leave before I am discovered here. Kabuto will lead you out to where I will be waiting." And with that, Orochimaru slipped out the doorway and vanished.

Kabuto glanced at Sasuke as the two of them entered the main room of the house. "Is there anything you could think of that you may be able to bring? This will most likely be the last time you ever step foot in here."

"Just let me get a storage scroll. There are a few clan scrolls that I haven't learned yet, and just a few personal affects that I wouldn't want to leave behind," Sasuke said, reaching into a closet and head into the rest of the house to get the items he mentioned.

Kabuto stepped outside and waited for the Uchiha. Moments later, Sasuke came out, a pack on his shoulder that held some of his clothes and the weapons he had bought a few days beforehand. His storage scroll was strapped to the bottom, rather large considering how few possessions he had first said he needed to grab. Kabuto paid no mind to it, leading the young boy out of the complex and into the forest outside the walls to meet with Orochimaru.

'Naruto… I will return and you shall be my brother when I do… Itachi, you will die by my hands!'

* * *

"Hey Asuma, we got a present for ya!"

Asuma turned to look at Anko and her two genin students up the road a few hundred meters ahead. Anko had her foot resting on a large bundle wrapped in chains. He noticed the tears on Daisuke's sleeves, as well as the droplets falling off his tonfa. Ten-Ten was sitting in front of him, leaning back against his legs with her eyes closed. Sweat covered both their faces. Anko looked as if she had just gotten a tasty stick of dango from her favorite shop.

"Oi, what the hell happened to you guys?" Naruto asked, spotting the scene ahead.

Shikamaru glanced ahead, and noted the destruction that was everywhere. Kunai and shuriken littered the ground and could be seen sticking out of the trees. Blood dripped from a majority of them, staining the tree trunks.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked at the lumps, gasping when she realized what they really were. "Oh my god, those are shinobi, like us!" she said, sending a wave of fear out from her.

"Yeah, turns out these two were lying in a puddle in wait for something. We almost stepped right into them, but Daisuke stopped us about fifteen feet away and signaled us to take a closer look." Anko kicked a stray limb amongst the lump, getting a satisfactory grunt in return.

Ten-Ten crossed her arms in front of her ruined shirt, continuing the story. "That's when I threw a few kunai into the stupid puddle. I mean, c'mon! We haven't had rain in a few weeks now, so they totally didn't even think before putting themselves in the middle of the road."

Daisuke wiped his forehead free of the sweat, continuing the story. "After that things got real interesting. After these two jack-offs finally showed themselves, they went after Anko-sensei to get her out of the way first. Thankfully, she's got one itchy kunai-wrist. She knocked the face-mask off one of them but the other managed to get around her. They got these gauntlets that are linked together with this chain, which we used to tie them up. As you can see, it has a ton of sharp edges, allowing for the two of them to ensnare and shred a target between the two of them."

"The second one managed to wrap his end of the chain around my body, and it would have worked too, if I hadn't already used the substitution to switch my body with a log. Then Ten-Ten threw a few shuriken to fasten the length of the chain across several of the trees, causing both of these maggots to release the chain from their gauntlets." Anko kicked a limb of the other ninja in the chained up lump. "After that, each of them chased after my students. Daisuke got nailed in the arms from both gauntlets, but before they could do any further damage Ten-Ten came at them with some of her weapons."

"From there the rest is a blur. I don't know exactly what happened. One moment I was watching as they focused on Daisuke, and as they were about to bring both of their fists up to his face, then there was a strange feeling paralyzing us all in the scene. I could only watch as a green and black blur raced all around us. After that," Ten-Ten shivered, merely recalling what she said next, "Daisuke eased both of us to sitting on the ground here and hefted the two ninja by their own chain to hang off the road from a tree limb."

Anko shook with excitement as she finished the story, no one noticing the worried look Daisuke attempted to hide. They were all slack-jawed at eharing this story. "When I got back to my senses, I got to work on interrogating the two of them. Turns out they're the infamous duo from Kirigakure, the nukenin 'the Demon Brothers'."

Tazuna froze momentarily at hearing this, but failed to hide it sufficiently from those around him. 'Fucking shit…'

Asuma eyed the bridge builder. "Tazuna, would you have any idea why there would be a pair of well known nukenin would have in attempting to ambush us?"

The genin near Asuma closely eyed the old man. He started sweating profusely, then finally sighed in defeat. "The truth is that those two were part of a larger group that were hired to kill me."

Anko came up and stepped up directly into Tazuna's face. "And why would that be, you pathetic drunkard?"

"It's because of the economic situation our country is in right now. Gato, the multimillion shipping industry magnate is choking the life out of Wave through the seas. Since we lack a shinobi village of our own, we had to come to a foreign country to get help. But with Gato draining all of our money through strangling the trade routes, we had hardly enough to get even a C-rank mission from the elders of Konoha," Tazuna closed his eyes, hoping that they would understand.

Naruto scratched his head in confusion, then asked. "But what does this Gato have to do with you?"

Hinata sighed and smacked him gently on the head. "If Wave only relies on ships to do their trade, and Gato having control of all the trading ships, if a bridge were to be completed that connected the island to the mainland, then Gato would lose his absolute control over the small country."

"Yes, and that is why Gato has hired a bunch of nukenin to hunt me and kill me, and go about it at any way they can. Even if they have to kill my family, they will do anything they can to complete their job." Tazuna's eyes were dim with the shock of situation.

"Well then there is a real good reason why the Hokage demanded that if my team take this, that your team come along as backup, eh Anko?" Asuma said, smirking.

The special jonin turned her head to the side and humphed, walking back and examining her students.

"How troublesome, so I take it that we're gonna continue with this death wish of a mission?" Shikamaru asked, glancing around at his friends and both sensei. Not getting any response that said otherwise, he sighed in resignation. "We might as well get going on then, the sooner we get him back, the sooner we can get rid of the rest of that nukenin group and get this bridge of yours finished."

Tazuna was amazed to hear this: these gaki and their weird leaders were going to continue the mission, despite having been lied to. "I thank you, just as much as my village will once this is all over. When we get to Wave, you can all rest as much as you need in my home. It is more than big enough for us all, even with my daughter and her son Inari."

Before another word was said, the group cleaned up mess of the area to hide the fact that there had been a fierce battle. After the cleanup was done, Anko sent a snake messenger back to Konoha to come and retrieve the two shinobi for further interrogation and imprisonment.

"Until ANBU comes to retrieve these two, my team will stay here and watch over them. Your team, Asuma, should stay with Tazuna. We can't afford to waste time by all of us staying here," she said, sitting promptly down on the chained up lump. "Just gives me a chance to show my students my pride, my _very hard to earn_ pride, in their accomplishments today."

Daisuke and Ten-Ten glanced at each other, then back at Anko. They were both worried at this.

"Fine, but just make sure to be at the rendezvous point at the beach in three hours. Otherwise, you won't be able to catch up with us until tomorrow at the bridge builder's house," Asuma said, indicating with a hand signal for his group to start moving forward.

"Don't worry, you'll see us before then," Anko replied with a wink.

* * *

Beyond the tree limbs that hid it, a figure watched the entire events from the time the first group had run into the nukenin from Kiri.

'Zabuza-sama must learn of the and fast. If things aren't changed soon, then everything will be in jeopardy…'

And before anyone could take the time to notice, a mirror mysteriously appeared from nothing, and vanished from whence it came just as soon as the figure jumped through it, to places unkown.


	18. Mists & Swords

Notes: I know there has been dissention amongst you due to the fact that I've been putting Anko's sadistic behavior into focus with her students, but not to fear, for there is always a method to my own madness; it's just Anko's madness that I have yet to fully understand.

Nothing else that I can think of, over than thanking you guys for the huge spike in hits again; I've gotten another 500 since I posted chapter 16 last night. And to be nice, I've decided to enable the anonymous review option for a while, to see what people that aren't signed up with FF.N think of the story thus far.

On with today's installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 17!

* * *

"Hey guys, there's a boat up ahead at the beach. Looks like it's waiting for us or something," Naruto said, squinting his eyes to see in the distance.

"That would be the guy that brought me over from Wave, Roku. He's normally the captain of our ferry to the mainland, but since Gato has cut off all ships that aren't his from doing anything of the sort, we've had to resort to using a small boat to transport very important things like emergency medicine and documents," Tazuna responded, waving at the man sitting against the hull of the overturned boat.

He looked up and waved in return. "Hey there old man, was wondering when you would be returning. I got worried when a pair of shinobi in breather masks zoomed out of the ocean and sprang into the woods not long after you left."

Asuma pulled out another stick of peanut brittle as he spoke. "Our support unit found them when they scouted up ahead of us shortly before we left. When we finally caught up with them a few hours ago, they had both of them tied up and in pain using their own equipment."

Roku looked surprised at this. "Must have been some strong jonin ninjas on that team then. I immediately knew it was the Demon brothers when I glimpsed at them and saw their gauntlets and that horrid chain."

Naruto smirked, surprising the boat captain with the truth. "Actually, it was two genin, one being fresh out of the Academy and the other into her second year out of it, along with their jonin sensei that took care of those two idiots."

"I gotta call bullshit on that. There's no way that two genin and a jonin could take out the Demon brothers all on their own," scoffed the boatman. Naruto was about to retort when Hinata shocked the group with her own retort.

"Y-you don't know don't know how unsafe it is to underestimate the strength of a shi-shinobi just based off their rank. Daisuke and T-Ten-Ten aren't like the rest of us genin."

"That's right. They weren't permitted to be a two man cell for nothing," Asuma said, plopping himself near the boat. "Hokage-sama wouldn't normally let there be an unbalanced team such as that, but those two are quite different. From what I saw of the job they did on those Kiri nukenin, I'd say that it would take a long time for anyone that were to be made their third teammate quite a while to get to where their skill level is at now."

Roku shook his head, still not believing what the group was telling him.

"Well, we've still got a bit of time before we leave, with or without Anko's team. Get a bit relaxed guys, but keep your guard up; we don't know when the rest of that group will be arriving to try and pick up where the Demon Brothers left off."

* * *

"Alright, so you two got the markings down. Now, all you gotta do is focus chakra into them. After enough time and practice, you won't have to even think about doing it, it will just become reflex," Anko said, inwardly proud at what her students had just achieved. 'Never thought I'd be passing on one of my techniques from that _bastard_ to anyone, let alone relatively fresh genin. But after what I saw, they are more than ready for a revised version of the training I went through.'

"Alright, since we're low on time, you two will have to train with that technique later. Right now, we gotta high-tail it outta here if we're gonna make that rendezvous point on time."

Daisuke and Ten-Ten nodded, getting ready to leap out of the road and into the trees.

"Hey now, we don't have time to go frolicking in the woods; we're gonna be hitching a ride on Raijin to make it there with no time to spare."

Both genin looked slightly scared. They were unsure of whether it was a good idea to use Raijin for such a thing, despite the fact that Anko had been riding on his head every day for their 'stamina training'.

"Quit your belly-aching and hang on!" She bit down on her thumb and slammed her hand down into the ground, with a puff of smoke to the side of them. From the cloud came Raijin's body.

"What is it now Anko? This is now the second time today you've summoned me, so it better be good."

"Listen up you puny snake-teme!" Anko shouted, pointing a finger at his head. "We need to get to the ocean beach not far off, a ways up this road, and you're going to take us there and fast. Got it?"

"Yes, Anko," the snake said with a resigned sigh. He lowered his head enough for Anko to jump on and sit down cross-legged. She patted the spaces on either side of her, motioning for her students to hurry up.

Daisuke only hesitated for a moment before he joined her on her right, leaving Ten-Ten to sit to Anko's left. "Alright Raijin, let's move!"

* * *

Asuma sat down in the boat, having waited the full three hours for Anko and her students to arrive. The genin had all insisted that they wait longer, but he immediately told them that in the life of a shinobi, being on time can often lead to life or death consequences. This shut the three of them up with a humph, a sad look, and a 'troublesome associates' from his students.

Tazuna was sitting up in the front of the boat, keeping an eye out for any obstacles in their way. "Can't believe they didn't show up on time. Wonder if anything happened to them?"

Roku smirked. "Probably the Demon Brothers got loose and came after them. Like I said, there's no way that-" was as far as he got before there was a large splash and everyone turned to look behind them, hearing three loud yells. One of the voices was obviously male, and the other two female; one was definitely older than the other female, as the younger one had a higher pitch.

Before anyone on the boat could say anything more to that end, a loud rushing could be heard coming from the shore they had just departed half an hour earlier. "What the hell is that?" asked Roku, his arms frozen and preventing him from maneuvering the boat to utilize the currents.

Asuma was wondering the same thing, but the answer came as they saw three figures rapidly approached them at a great speed. Naruto sensed them and readied a kunai, Hinata a few shuriken, and Shikamaru simply opened one eye to examine the situation.

"What the…" said Naruto, amazed at what he was seeing.

"I-It can't be…" Hinata whispered, grabbing Naruto's arm and gripping tightly. The blond placed his free hand on hers, squeezing it in return to show that he felt the same way she did at that moment.

"…" Shikamaru did nothing but look at the oncoming trio.

"Hn, seems like they only just missed us then," Asuma said as he chewed on his candy stick. 'God I need a smoke so bad. Damn gaki, beating me after having made that damn bet beforehand.'

"Hey there everyone!" Anko said, emerging from the fog behind the boat. Daisuke and Ten-Ten appeared beside her shortly. What shocked everyone was how they had caught up to the boat.

Each of the three of them were standing on the backs of snakes, not as large as Raijin was, but still larger than a human being. Naruto started stuttering as he pointed at them, "H-how are you g-guys doing that!?"

Anko smirked as she explained. "It's just the simple use of my snake summoning contract. They are a particular kind that normally floats on water and slithers across it, just like it were land. But these summoned snakes are able to do it using their chakra instead."

"Yeah, Anko-sensei said that it would be easiest to just have us ride these instead of her trying to teach us water-walking at this point," Daisuke said, signaling the snake he was on to move slightly closer to the boat with the change of pressure he applied with his feet.

Ten-Ten eased up closer on the other side of the boat and chimed in. "Yeah, plus Anko-sensei also taught us something really cool, considering how we surprised her with handling those two nukenin earlier!" The excitement was just oozing off her that even Roku could feel her anticipation in showing her new technique off.

"Now remember you two, you can use it on missions that take us out of the village, and into some more remote locations in Fire country, but that's it for now." Anko gave a stern look to both of them, adding, "I don't need to get chewed out by the Hokage _and_ the council for teaching my otouto and imouto the things I learned from that snake-teme. Not yet anyways."

Daisuke beamed with pride and glee. "Don't worry Anko-sensei, we won't."

Ten-Ten nodded her head in furious agreement. "Yeah! We won't let anything happen to you now that you trust us, Anko-nee-chan. Family stands up and protects one another!"

Anko jumped off her snake, causing it to disappear into the summons dimension, and she landed on the one Ten-Ten was on. She immediately whipped out a kunai from her sleeve and ponked the young kunoichi on the head with the ring pommel. "Remember, as long as we're outside the village or on missions, you treat me as your sensei, just like you treat Daisuke as your teammate. If an incident occurs where we have to engage in enemy combatants, and they find out we treat each other like this, or that you and Daisuke are in a committed relationship, they will _not_ hesitate to utilize that to the fullest."

"Yes, Anko-sensei," the kunoichi responded, rubbing the lump on her head, coincidentally located between her buns.

"Good to hear. Now we have to get refocused and be prepared for what could possibly be awaiting us by the time we make landfall in a while." Anko jumped off Ten-Ten's snake and landing evenly in the boat between Tazuna and Shikamaru.

"C'mon, let's get back to it. The sooner we get to land, the sooner we can get to my house and rest up for the work at the construction site." Tazuna looked back up to where they were headed, and he said nothing else. Everyone nodded and kept an alert ear out for anything.

A few minutes later, and Daisuke had an idea. He reached into a supply pocket of his trench vest and produced a pair of kunai attached to each other with a long metal wire. He signaled Ten-Ten and signed his idea. She nodded, and called out softly, "Anko-sensei, catch Daisuke's kunai and run it trhough the loop at the bow of the boat, then toss it to me."

Anko barely heard the important parts but immediately knew what they were doing. She gently stood up, moved past Tazuna, and caught the strung kunai from Daisuke and ran it through the loop a couple times then threw it to Ten-Ten.

"Alright guys, hang on! We're about to kick this tug-boat into high gear!" Daisuke voiced to his allies in the boat. Roku was completely caught off guard as he nearly fell out of the boat when the small craft lurched. He regained his balance as he looked over the heads of everyone in front of him and saw that the two ninja on the snakes were using a tether between them that had been attached to the boat without him seeing, and were now pulling the boat at an incredible speed.

Hinata was clutching onto Naruto's arm as they felt the speed of the boat increase far beyond what they had previously been going at. "This is-" Naruto started, but Hinata promptly clamped her hand over his mouth before anyone could yell at him for the possibility of alerting the enemy that could be anywhere to their location.

Not more than half an hour later, the bridge builder and his security were waving off the boatman, hoping he would be safe when he got back to his port.

"Alright everyone, only another hour's walk and we'll be at my house!" Tazuna said, pointing down the path from the beach they were standing on.

The group took a moment to take inventory of their supplies before setting out. "Anko, your team should stick to the trees in the event that the rest of that group hired by Gato emerges to finish what you three prevented earlier. I'll take rearguard, Hinata and Shikamaru on either side of Tazuna, and Naruto, you'll take point in the open as Anko travels via the tree tops above you in case someone attacks us first."

Everyone nodded, and Daisuke leapt into the trees on the right side of the path, Ten-Ten on the left. Anko jumped straight up and took her time to silently jump from branch to branch as best she could to stay up with the group silently and yet hidden.

Fifteen minutes down the path from the beach, and Naruto immediately stopped, causing the group to look at him strangely. Before anyone could speak up, he pulled out a kunai from his pouch and hurled it at a rustling in a bush to his right, resulting in shocked looks from his teammates.

Anko dropped down and looked behind the bush, finding a white rabbit scared stiff with the kunai lodged into the tree, right between its ears. "Nice going gaki, throwing a kunai at a random noise and almost killing an innocent rabbit. What were you thinking?"

She moved to smack him with the flat of his kunai but Asuma coughed, responding for his students. "Anko, exactly what season is this?"

"Summer, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"And what color is that rabbit?"

She held the small animal up by the ears and examined it. "What the…? Why is there a rabbit from Snow Country in Wave during the middle of summer?"

"EVERYONE, DOWN!" came Ten-Ten's voice from the trees behind them. Everyone on the path dropped to the ground, hearing a whirling sound flying at them. They expected to hear it pass over their heads, but instead heard a very loud clashing of metal and a tree falling over.

Naruto and the other ninja looked up, and saw before them Daisuke with his tonfa out, panting. Hinata looked at where they heard the tree falling. Not far off the road there stood the remains of a once tall evergreen.

Embedded in the remains of the stump was a huge sword, easily wider than even Asuma was, and appearing to be as long as Anko was tall.

"Impressive, to see someone, let alone a mere genin, deflect my sword is a rare sight these days," came a deep voice with a slight gravel to it.

The jonin were the first to spot the man standing on the handle of the huge sword. His hitai-ite was tied around his forehead with the metal plate bearing a scratch through the symbol standing for Kirigakure over his left temple. His pants were grey slacks, with his camouflage combat sandals coming up to just below his knees, and his armguards matching his sandals.

Anko gasped at the sight. "Zabuza…"

"I see that someone has been studying their international bingo books lately," said the figure. He jumped down and retrieved his sword with ease. "I see that Konohagakure has sent a couple of their special jonin and a handful of brats to guard you, old man. Too bad I'm going to have to kill them if they stand in my way."

Asuma was really wishing he had a cigarette right now. "Momochi Zabuza, nukenin of Kirigakure, wanted for a failed coup against the Mizukage not long ago, forced to run from the oinin of the Village Hidden in the Mist and perform small jobs to hide his locations. Figures you would take up a job from someone as powerful and rich as Gato."

"This is going to be interesting, dealing with the son of the Sandaime Hokage as well as the only legitimate pupil of Orochimaru while he stayed loyal to Konohagakure." The smirk on his face could be sensed through his voice.

Zabuza took a look at the genin, and stood still. "Come out now, you little tree-hugging panda, or I'll kill the one that deflected my sword."

Daisuke face-faulted as he could feel the killer intent from Ten-Ten as she flipped from the trees behind Zabuza and landed behind Naruto. Asuma and Anko took up defensive postures in front of the group, while Daisuke flicked his tonfa up with edges parallel to his arms.

"Don't get in my way, and I'll let you all live. My business is with Tazuna."

Asuma spat out his candy as his hands pulled his trench knives out of their sheathes. Anko pulled three kunai from her sleeves and gripped them in between her fingers. "Don't think we're just going to sit by and let you have at him, Zabuza."

"Fine, have it your way. I'll just kill all of you." With that, Zabuza lunged towards them, hands on the handle of his sword and bring it down towards Asuma.


	19. Nukenin & Oinin

Notes: Alrighty, not much to say, other than thank you all for your reviews and your hits. My list of people adding this to their lists seems to be growing every time I publish a new chapter. As of now, nearly 6400 hits in 18 chapters, and there is still quite a collection of ideas rolling around in my grey matter before I finally catch up with Chaos666.

Well, not much else, so here is today's presentation of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 18!

* * *

Asuma spat out his candy as his hands pulled his trench knives out of their sheathes. Anko pulled three kunai from her sleeves and gripped them in between her fingers. "Don't think we're just going to sit by and let you have at him, Zabuza."

"Fine, have it your way. I'll just kill all of you." With that, Zabuza lunged towards them, hands on the handle of his sword and bring it down towards Asuma.

Anko flung her kunai at Zabuza, attempting to distract him from Asuma, but he swung his sword to deflect the projectiles. He then felt the trench knives Asuma was holding drive themselves into his unprotected right side.

"Hah, think that a mere wound like that will harm me?" Zabuza sneered, before dissolving into a puddle of water.

"A water clone!?" Naruto exclaimed, pulling out a kunai from his pouch. Hinata stepped to on Tazuna's left side, dropping into the taijutsu stylings of her clan, the Jyuuken. Shikamaru stepped to behind Tazuna's right, flexing his hands in anticipation of having to use his Shadow Grasp.

Ten-Ten flanked Tazuna, keeping her guard up after seeing just how easily he actually handled that massive sword. She pulled out several shuriken, ready to defend the bridge builder if he managed to get past Anko and Asuma. Daisuke stepped back towards the group, keeping himself between them and the jonin before him. If any of the combatants could see beneath his sunglasses, they would be shocked to see the pentagrams he hid underneath his eyelids slowly start to turn in opposite directions.

"Where are you, Momochi?" Anko hissed, readying her kunai again as she scanned the area.

"I'm over here, snake-mistress," came his voice, causing everyone to look up the path and see him standing on a pond the path ran alongside.

"The Demon of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza. Master of the Silent Killing technique; keep your guard up kids, he isn't going to be as easy to handle as the Demon Brothers were," Anko said, launching several kunai at the nukenin from Kiri. He hefted up his sword and deflected the kunai again. This time, he launched a counterattack as he ran at Asuma with his sword prepared to swing from his right.

"Wind Style: Slashing Breeze!" Asuma called out, charging to meet Zabuza's sword head on with his trench knives. The metal of the weapons sparked as they connected, Zabuza putting a lot of effort in trying to push his opponent back.

"Anko, now!" he called out, giving her the signal to get in the fray.

She smiled as she ran towards the two men, raising her arms up as she called out a technique. "Seneijashu!" Several snakes flew from the sleeves of her jacket towards the enemy nin, causing him to break away from Asuma and jump back to avoid the snakes.

"Impressive, the Hidden Snake Arm jutsu that Orochimaru was well known in using to restrain his prisoners. I wasn't expecting to see it with my own eyes." Zabuza's mouth may have been covered by a mass of bandages, but everyone could easily tell he was smirking behind it.

Anko growled as she threw several more kunai at him, while he only jumped from side to side as they flew past him. "Pathetic, the apprentice of the Legendary Snake Sannin should be more powerful than this. It seems you've grown soft from lack of work you've been given back in Hidden Leaf," Zabuza taunted, creating more water clones. Before Asuma could react, a clone came at him while another headed to Anko.

They had barely enough time to defend with their weapons before the real Zabuza disappeared from in front of them, only to hear another clash of metal behind them. The jonin could only glance out the corners of their eyes as they found the real nukenin had appeared in the middle of the group, right in front of Tazuna.

"You're finished old man; once I've killed you, there won't be anyone with enough will power to oppose him. Gato will keep his tight hold on this pathetic country, and no one will be able to stop him," he said as he brought his sword up over his head, preparing for a brutal crash to occur into the bridge builder's head.

What happened next was something Zabuza had not intended to happen. His sword arm tried to pull the sword back down from the high point of the arc it was in, but found that something was giving him a good run for his money on keeping it from finishing its task of smiting the old man.

"Don't underestimate us, just because we're half your size, Demon!" Daisuke said as his tonfa were seen to be holding down the tip of the massive sword. "Naruto, you and Shika need to get Tazuna out of the way! Hinata, I need you to come at him and close his tenketsu while Ten-Ten covers you! We have to work fast or all is lost!"

Shikamaru grabbed Tazuna by the arm and dragged him a good distance off the path, still visible to the fighters but far enough out of the way that he wouldn't be constantly at risk. Naruto nodded and formed the final sign, calling out his recently nfamous jutsu. Fifteen Naruto clones appeared next to him and they all followed Shikamaru, taking up every possible point of defense around the old man.

Ten-Ten pulled out a scroll with the word 'shuriken' written on it, and ran through the hand signs to open it. There was a loud sound of clanking metal as hundreds of throwing stars appeared in neat stacks on the ground in front of her, ready for her usage.

Zabua's snarled. "How dare you think you can stand up to the Demon of the Mist! You are nothing more than a mere child!"

"You may be a nukenin from an eastern village that seems to know most of the Konoha shinobi ranks, but you fail to recognize my hitai-ite." Daisuke grunted as he forced Zabuza's sword to the side as best as he could, by easing his arms the opposite way, forcing him to fall forward with the strength he had been putting behind the sword. As he came forward, Zabuza nearly was hit by the open palm strike from Hinata as she rushed forward as Ten-Ten threw volley after volley of shuriken to help her make her way in..

"Impressive, you work well together for mere gaki. But teamwork won't be able to save your or that old man!" Zabuza rolled in mid fall, leaving Hinata to rush past him. He swept one leg up and kicked her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Pain was shooting through her abdomen as Hinata crumpled to ground, allowing Zabuza to jump out of the reach of Daisuke's tonfa.

"What's that symbol on your headband, boy? I've seen all the village symbols, and yours I don't recognize. Are you from that new one, Otogakure?" Zabuza asked, readying his sword again.

"Hah! Don't compare Ankokugakure with that rat's nest of the damned. I'm from the other side of the Ygotsui, the Village Hidden in the Darkness."

Daisuke was now focusing his chakra slightly into his tonfa as he put himself between Zabuza and the others of the group. 'I can't let him get to Tazuna.'

* * *

Naruto was looking with wide eyes as Hinata had been knocked over with a kick from Zabuza. As he saw her fall, holding her stomach in pain, he immediately zoned out anything else that was going on. His face tightened into a grimace as he leapt away from his mass of clones and his teammate, hoping they would be fine to guard Tazuna.

* * *

Anko and Asuma were finally able to dispel the water clones Zabuza had made to occupy them from protecting the old man, and were now on their way to try and get an advantage over Zabuza as Daisuke and the others kept him distracted.

* * *

Shikamaru mumbled about how troublesome unexpected events were as he channeled his chakra into his Shadow Grasp jutsu and reached out to pick up Hinata's body, successfully removing her from the danger zone. He got her off the path just as the real Naruto, as well as the jonin senseis, reached Zabuza and all three of them stretched out to implae their weapons into him.

"Heh, even with two jonins and a genin attacking me all at once, you won't be able to stop me!" he roared, sweeping his sword around him hard and knocking all three of them back towards the pond.

Asuma and Anko were able to right themselves up from the surface of the water, but Naruto simply fell in, as he was unable to walk on water as the jonin were. Asuma suddenly realized that Naruto had taken the most of force from the blow and didn't know what was going on, thus making Asuma jump down into the water after him.

Before Anko could do anything, Zabuza made himself apparently clear that he didn't want her interfering as he appeared behind her and smashed her with the flat of his sword, propelling her to the other side of the lake.

As Asuma had returned to the surface with an unconscious Naruto in hand, he noticed that Zabuza was making hand signs at a fast rate. Without thinking, he instinctually tossed Naruto onto the shore, close to Daisuke and Te-Ten. Both of Anko's students had witnessed what had just happened, and were originally rushing to help their sensei if they could.

Asuma found himself trapped in an orb of water seconds after tossing Naruto away from him. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu. It allows me to use the water around me as a prison cell of sorts to contain you while slowly depleting the air supply within. Since I doubt you know the water-breathing jutsu like your father does, you should only have a few minutes' worth of oxygen before you die from suffocation." The large nukenin then proceeded to make one-handed signs, which then led to there being another water clone of himself charging the genin.

"Run! If his clone gets too far from him, it reverts back to being just water. Your first objective is the safety of the bridge builder. If he dies, then we've failed our mission!" Asuma yelled from within the orb of water.

Daisuke, Ten-Ten, and Naruto all stared in shock at hearing his words. Naruto was the one to respond. "One of the few things that I learned from the studies Iruka-sensei drilled into my head was that those who don't follow orders are trash, but those that abandon their comrades are beyond trash! I will not let you sacrifice yourself just so we can run, Asuma-sensei!"

An orange blur shot past all of them as one of Naruto's shadow clones went along the road and over to the opposite side of the lake, kneeling down to check on Anko. It looked up after feeling her pulse. "She's just out cold. It must have been a solid contact with the sword combined with the impact of being slammed into that tree back there that led her to black out." Another blur zoomed past them, a black shadow that was able to cross the water, and stopped as it came into contact with Anko's limp form.

'Shadow Grasp jutsu, successful," came Shikamaru's voice, his hands in the rat sign. Before Zabuza was able to do anything, Anko's body was enveloped in the shadow extension and reappeared behind the lazy genin. "I'm real glad I got those jutsu variations from Cousin Tsuki, despite how troublesome that training was."

"So, a member of the Nara clan as well. Your shadow jutsus seem different than those that I've fought in the past. Care to enlighten me?" quipped Zabuza, keeping a firm grasp on his jutsu containing the male jonin.

"What a drag, having to explain things to an enemy nukenin. I just spent two years over in Ankokugakure is all. Spent most of my time just staring at the clouds with my distant cousins," Shikamaru replied with a sigh.

"No matter, you will all die here!" Zabuza roared as his clone rushed the genin still on land, sword preparing for a side-swipe to take out all three of them. "I'll take out you three first, then I will finish off the other two with the old man and Mitarashi. After that, I will take great pleasure in handing Tazuna's head over to Gato."

The clone swung his massive sword at them with intent to separate their bodies into tops and bottoms, but nothing connected with the blade as the three genin jumped straight up into the air. The clone looked up as all three of them landed on his head with axe kicks.

The clone dissipated into water again as the three genin stood up and faced the bandaged shinobi still holding Asuma at arm's length.

"Heh, so you defeated another of my water clones. No big deal. As long as there is water nearby, and I have chakra, my clones will overpower you no matter what."

Ten-Ten took a quick look around, and noticed something. "Guys! If we can force him to move out of the way of a large enough attack, then we can force him to drop that water prison Asuma-sensei is in!"

"Great idea Ten-Ten! I'll handle this!" yelled out Naruto, placing his hands into the cross sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Immediately, there were dozens of Naruto clones on the shore, looking at Zabuza, all with the same determined look in his eyes as they all smirked.

All of them chorused in one voice: "Now you can either let Asuma-sensei go now of your own volition, or we'll _make _you let him go!"

"Again you surprise me with your hidden skills. Indeed it seems that I did underestimate you. To think, that a small runt like you could possibly be able to handle creating this many shadow clones without so much as having to break a sweat yet. I now see why Kiri and Iwa are working together with Oto against Konoha!" Zabuza let out a wave of killer intent at the clones, continuing, "But do not think that will be your saving grace! Even with that much stamina, you still are no match for me!"

"We'll see about that!" Naruto and all his clones jumped from the shore, all through the air towards Zabuza. Zabuza used his free hand to whack most of the clones away, but the real Naruto and a few others used the ones that had been knocked back as springboards to come down at the nukenin from above.

Zabuza looked up and brought his sword to a vertical position, and this was all the chance Daisuke needed. He nodded to Ten-Ten who prepared several explosive tags to shuriken, while he created two clones of himself silently. Just as Naruto and his remaining clones were shoved away, Daisuke let loose. "NOW!" he yelled.

Ten-Ten threw her armed shuriken at all parts of Zabuzas body, causing him to make more hand signs. Suddenly a large wall of water sprang up after he called out: "Water Style: Water Fortification Jutsu!" The notes on the shuriken all went off, none o the blasts making it through the dense wall of water.

Zabuza released the jutsu, just in time to find three Daisukes coming from different angles, tonfa with their edges whirling blurs.

He kicked the one that was coming at his feet, causing it to dispel into dust, as his free arm reached out and used his sword to swat away the second one coming from his left. He only just caught the sight of the real Daisuke coming at him from just above the water prison. Zabuza scowled as he realized that they had indeed forced him to release the jutsu, or else lose a limb or two.

His hold of the water enclosing Asuma was released when he jumped back away from the incoming assault. "Very good, you did something right. But now, you are all out of chakra. This leaves you with only two options, both are in my favor. Either you give up Tazuna and you go free, or you die here and then I take the old man. Either way, I get the bridge builder."

Asuma pulled himself from the water, and was about to charge Zabuza with his trench knives, until there were several objects that passed right by his ears and sank into Zabuza's neck. His body fell limp, almost sinking into the water but not before a masked figure leapt out from behind the tree line and picked him up.

"I must thank you all. I have been tracking Momochi Zabuza for several months now, and I must now take care of the body."

Before anyone could say something, the masked figure and the limp body of the Demon of the Mist disappeared.

"Shit, he got away!" Asuma said. Everyone that was conscious was staring at him.

"But Zabuza was killed, wasn't he?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"Yeah, I saw him fall over like a sack of potatoes," Ten-Ten added.

Daisuke pulled himself out of the pond where he had fallen in after causing the nukenin to drop the prison jutsu. "I don't know guys, something's wrong here though. Aren't oinin supposed to dispose of the body right after capture is confirmed?

The two of them thought about that as Shikamaru, Tazuna, and the remaining Naruto clones brought Anko and a waking Hinata up with them. Asuma walked up to Anko and pulled out a vial from inside one of his vest pockets. He pulled out the cork and wafted a bit of the smel to her nose, and moved away just as she swept up a kunai from her sleeve in the space that his head had just occupied.

"What the hell just happened to me?" Anko asked as she plopped down, reflexively placing her hands on her lower back in response to the pain there.

"Zabuza smacked you in the back with the flat of his blade, aneue," Ten-Ten answered as she handed the seated jonin a packet of pills. She promptly found one of the pills smack in between her eyes.

"What did I tell you about being professional on missions and in public, imouto?" Anko smirked, shakily standing up. She reached into her coat and pulled out a canteen. She took a swig of the water in it and swallowed the painkiller. "So, where did he go?"

Asuma pulled out a fresh stick of peanut brittle, shaking his head. "It's like Daisuke pointed out to Naruto and Ten-Ten. The oinin that appeared not long ago and made off with Zabuza's body has to be an accomplice. All trackers are supposed to burn the target's corpse immediately and on site, to prevent the secrets of the ninja's original village from getting stolen."

Anko smacked her forehead and groaned. "For fuck's sake, you mean we gotta face him _again_?"

"Yes, but from what I could tell, the points in which the oinin's senbon needles made contact, they were only used to put Zabuza into a death-like state rather than killing him. So it's safe to say that we've got at least a week before we should expect to see him again," Asuma stated, chewing on his candy.

Anko took a look at the others, and noted their exhaustion. "Alright then maggots, let's pick up the pace so we can get Tazuna to his home. There we can get some rest before we start preparing for the final confrontation with Zabuza."

"W-what are we going to be doing to prepare?" Hinata asked, standing wearily with naruto's help in the form of her arm being slung over his shoulders.

Anko smiled in response as the group proceeded towards the direction of Tazuna's house. "Simple: you five are going to learn to climb trees without your hands!"


	20. Strengthening the Threads

Notes: Oh yeah, this is really progressing nicely. My ratio of chapters to days is nearly 3:2 as of yesterday. I just wonder how much longer I can or will be able to keep up the pace of at least one chapter a day? Meh, we'll find out, now won't we?

For those of you wondering 'Where the hell was that meeting with Kyuubi and Naruto you promised us?', don't worry, I merely put it off until the proper moment produced itself. To those of you that felt that Kyuubi taking slight control over Naruto when Hinata got the wind knocked out of her last chapter, if I had done that I would feel as it being written prematurely. I mean, keeping you guys in suspense is part of the job. So I had given in to your demands, then it would have proven anti-climatic and leading to Zabuza getting butchered. Though that would have left an interesting venue for Haku (who is still in the lead to be a girl, so vote now or forever hold your peace!) to encounter a fork in the road that is her life.

So, everyone please just understand that my chaos has some form of order to it, and sit tight.

Now, onto today's installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 19!

"Alright kids, it's time for your first lesson in controlling your chakra," Asuma said as he fiddled with a trench knife. "Now, before you say anything, there is a difference between using and controlling your chakra. You_ use_ your chakra to perform jutsu, from genjutsu to ninjutsu and in a minimal way, even taijutsu; while _controlling_ your chakra allows you to perform certain tasks that need to last longer than the duration of a normal jutsu. Exercises that assist you in developing your chakra control include walking up trees and walking on water by simply learning to focus different amounts of chakra to your feet, to using a special type of weights that absorb a bit of your chakra to gradually increase your chakra reserves as well as your physical strength and stamina."

The five genin looked at him with quizzical looks on their faces, apparently not having heard of such exercises in the Academy.

Asuma sighed at this. "It seems I need to demonstrate just how it works. Watch closely."

Asuma went over to the nearest tree in the clearing and proceeded to calmly walk right up it and out on a branch about thirty feet up, hanging upside down and noting the looks of astonishment on the kids' faces. "In this exercise, you will be learning to perform tree-walking without your hands, using just your chakra."

"B-but isn't the bottoms of our feet one of the m-most d-difficult parts of the b-body to focus chakra in such a way," Hinata asked timidly.

Asuma dropped back to the ground, doing a front flip to slow himself down and land calmly on his feet. "Yes, it is true that gathering your chakra to the soles of your feet is the hardest chakra control exercise that doesn't require external equipment or the like. That is why it is perfect for genin who have to face a difficult obstacle that they need to be able to overcome in a flash. With that in mind, the five of you will be performing the first portion, tree climbing, from now until the projected day we should encounter Zabuza and that rogue oinin working with him, next week sometime."

Shikamaru put his hands into his pockets as he muttered about how troublesome these new exercises were going to be, Hinata poked the tips of her forefingers together as she examined the surrounding trees. Naruto looked curiously at Asuma while Daisuke was sitting cross-legged on the ground with his hands holding onto the wrist of the opposite arm. Ten-Ten looked at each of her fellow genin and smiled.

"May I demonstrate, Asuma-sensei?" she said, raising her hand lightly.

The former chain smoker looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. "If you think you can do it, go right ahead and demonstrate how far you can get up the tree I just was on."

Ten-Ten smiled like a little devil as she strutted right up to the trunk of the tree and placed one foot tentatively on it, pushing slightly until she was pleased with the amount of chakra she was putting into the exercise. With a kick up from the ground, she simply stood parallel to the ground for a moment before she regained her composure and started to jog up the tree. She took a moment to sit at the top of the tree and look around.

"It's quite beautiful up here you guys! Wait until you see it for yourselves!" she yelled back down.

The others all looked on with eyes as large as dinner plates, minus Daisuke due to his sunglasses. Asuma shook his head and quieted himself before speaking again. "Very good Ten-Ten. I see that Gai actually did get to teaching you and Neji a few things while mainly focusing on teaching Lee taijutsu. Now can you come back down so they can ask for hints and advice if they get lost in the process?"

"Sure thing Asuma-sensei, I'll be right down!"

Before anyone could do or say anything, Ten-Ten leaped high into the air and did a mid-air flip, directing her head to be the point of her body that would be the center of the impact with the ground. She mentally counted to ten before she pulled out a shuriken in each hand and tossed them at a passing branch where they deeply embedded themselves.

She smiled as her body had started to drastically increase the distance the tree and itself. Just as everyone thought she would be going splat against the ground, they noticed the wires running from her hands and back up t the embedded shuriken. With a tug and another mid-air flip, Ten-Ten used her wires to swing back towards the tree. The sheer momentum from the averted direction of descent caused her to swing in a pendulum motion under the branch and swing right back up and over it. She did another two rotations around the branch before she eased her body out of the motion as the wires started in on the fourth rotation. At the near bottom of the swing, Ten-Ten released the wires in her hands and fell quietly to the ground and landed on her feet.

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow, Naruto stared speechless, and Hinata plopped down to the ground on her butt in amazement. Daisuke simply grinned, having seen her practice using that same method to swing from tree to tree instead of leaping around on branches.

Asuma eyed her carefully. "Very good, I see you've been working on your agility as well as your chakra control. Let's hope you can help the others get close to your level in the small amount of time we have to train."

Ten-Ten smiled as she nodded. "Sure, I'll be glad to help out with their chakra control. With you and Anko-sensei taking turns doing the guard duty at the construction site, we won't need to worry about having to split our time between guarding Tazuna and doing this exercise."

"Good, then I'll be at Tazuna's house and guard his family, in the event that Gato gets the idea to send something that way. I'll see all of you at dinner tonight." With that, the temporarily smoke-free jonin strode out of the clearing and back towards the small village.

Ten-Ten turned back to her fellow genin and sported a grin.

Daisuke saw this and sweatdropped slightly. 'I don't like where this could be going…'

"Alright maggots, take out a kunai from your pouches and pick your trees!"

"Hey Hinata, you've got great chakra control, could you help me with mine?"

Hinata glanced down from her branch down to the lowest branch on the tree next to hers, seeing Naruto with an exasperated look on his face. She smiled shyly to herself as she nodded at him ad jumped to land next to him.

"A-alright, Naruto-kun. Let me take a look at you with my Byakugan so I can see how you're doing," she said, sitting neatly on the branch.

"Alright!" Naruto said. He jumped down to the ground softly and focused his mind. He readied the kunai in his hand and started towards the tree. He stuck his feet to the trunk with enough ease, and carried himself up about twenty feet before he felt the strain on his concentration before being shoved away. "SHMEG!" his voice rang out as he unceremoniously landed on his head.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata screamed. She immediately leapt from the branch and landed right next to the blonde genin. Her hands swiftly found themselves checking his pulse, relieved to find that he was still alive but had an erratic pulse.

Shikamaru stepped up and looked at the situation. "Is everything okay?"

She looked up at him, barely pushing back the tears of relief. "Y-yes, Naruto-kun just used too much of his chakra during his last run at the tree, which c-caused him to be propelled away from the tree."

"Alright, just don't move him too much. I'd advise you don't touch his head, since I saw him hit it pretty hard. It's troublesome dealing with head trauma, and tricky business to say the least." With that, Shikamaru went back to his tree on the other side of the one that Naruto had been using for his exercises. Hinata gently took the blonde's left hand and held it tightly between her own small hands, her thumbs absentmindedly stroking the back of his hand.

'Ugh, what the hell happened to me?' Naruto awoke to find himself in a dark dank sewer, but he couldn't figure out how he had gotten there. 'Seems like this place is familiar, but I know I've never been here before. I'd know if I had been in a place this musty and wet…'

"**Ah, so you've finally come to see me Kit,"** came a dark but distinctly… _feminine_ voice from his right.

'Where are you?" he asked timidly, not knowing what was going on.

"**Just follow the trail of red chakra, and you will find me."**

Naruto saw one of the pipes in the middle of the wall begin to glow red and shoot to his right. 'Okay, if you say so…'

He continued to follow the pipe as it wound through the tunnels for what seemed an eternity until he finally reached the end of the line, as it ran into the floor and straight into a pair of cage doors. He noticed at first sight here was a tag place in the middle of the lock on the doors with the symbol for 'forbidden seal' on it.

"**So you are the one that was sentenced unjustly as my jailor for all eternity, eh Kit?"** came the voice again, this time much more defined as Naruto saw a pair of eyes appear behind the bars.

He stumbled backwards at seeing the large fox face show itself a moment later. 'Who… what are you? Where am I?'

"**I'm not surprised you have no clue as to who I am, but for you to not even recognize your own mindscape is truly sad Kit,"** said the voice, a wisp of red chakra coming through the bars and gently brushing a stray hair out of his face.

Naruto froze as he felt the chakra had a somewhat solid feel to it when it came into contact with his skin.

"**To answer your first question, I am that which your Yondaime Hokage sealed away, over twelve years ago. I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, most powerful of all the tailed demons."** The voice had a tinge of depression to it as Naruto listened to the being speak.

'But… the Yondaime was supposed to have killed you. According-"

"**Just because that is what you and all those that are of your generation does not mean the information is completely correct Kit. Yes, I did attack Konohagakure twelve years ago, but not of my own free will. I was defeated by the Yondaime, but it is utterly impossible for a human to destroy the strongest of the demon clans, let alone the most powerful demon lords."**

'Then how did he really defeat you if he was unable to outright kill you?' Naruto asked as he scratched behind his ear in puzzlement.

"**By using a forbidden sealing jutsu, he summoned the Shinigami, the death god, to seal my spirit and chakra away within a newborn child whose chakra coils had yet to be completely formed. This way, the infant would be able to develop a tolerance to the sheer amount of chakra that was sealed within its tiny body over time,"** the fox face said. **"The infant that the Yondaime used as the sealing factor was you Kit. Though I didn't get a good look at you through the haze of bloodlust I was under at the time, I could smell the link, the bond, between the Yondaime and you."**

'So you mean that I'm…'

"**I am not completely sure of it yet Kit, but I'm sure that the Sandaime would know for sure. Though coming and asking him outright would be a tad suspicious."** The fox face grinned as more of its features became easier for Naruto to identify. **"But for the time being, let's just focus on the here and now."**

The blonde was dumbfounded to say the least. He had always known that there was something different about him, considering his whisker marks and the fact that most everyone in the village would hunt him down and give him severe beatings. But to find out he was the very thing containing the most powerful of all demons was a dramatic shock.

He stood back up and cautiously came up to the cage doors, placing his hands on either side of the seal. 'So you are sealed within me?'

"**Yes Kit, the Yondaime was successful in doing that, but at the cost of his own life did he achieve your village's safety."** The voice he heard started to become softer and gentler. He looked past the bars, he saw that the giant fox head that was formed of red chakra was gone, and he started to make out the figure of a woman with several things swaying back and forth behind her.

"**Hello Kit. I figured it would be more appropriate for you to see me in a more… comforting form, rather than my 'combat' shape,"** the woman said, stepping into the limited amount of light in the cell behind the doors.

She had long red hair that was forming waves all around her, from head to the floor and unbound in any way. She wore a simple black kimono with a red obi that matched her hair, and her tails waved elegantly behind her. Her eyes were a bright red, much brighter than her hair or obi, and had slightly rounded slits in their centers. Her fox ears sat prominently on the top of her head, most red like her hair but with black tips.

'So um… what now?' Naruto asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his head after a few moments of silence.

Kyuubi smiled softly at him. **"First, you will need to help me redecorate this dreadful place a little, then we can continue our conversation in comfort. But alas, that will have to wait; your teammates are trying to wake up from that minor concussion you obtained with that last attempt at chakra-tree-climbing." **The fox-woman waved at him, her tails mimicking the movement, as Naruto was phasing out of the dark cell within his mind to find himself looking up at three of his fellow genin.

"Bout damn time you woke up, Naruto!" Daisuke said, pointing a finger directly at the blonde. "We thought you had cracked your skull open or something. We couldn't move you due to the risk of you maybe having snapped your neck on impact, so we couldn't perform a thorough check for injuries."

"Sorry guys, I was just exhausted and it just overcame me when I took that fall, hehe." The blonde quickly looked around, then noticed something was a miss. "Hey guys, where's Hina-chan?"

Ten-Ten giggled through her hand as Daisuke simply shook his head. Shikamaru was the only to answer him. "Look down, goofball."

Naruto, with a puzzled look on his face, lowered his eyes to see that Hinata was lying perpendicular to him, with her head using his stomach as a pillow, her hands trapping his hand in a vice grip. Naruto could only smile as this warmed his heart and eased the pain in his head.

"**Seems like you've finally noticed her Kit. Good for the two of you."**

Before he could say anything, he then realized where he was. Apparently they had been able to discern that his body was stable enough to move without much risk, and had gotten him back to Tazuna's house. "How did you guys get me here?"

"What a drag, you already forgot I can use any shadow I see as a portal to places I've already been to. And you call yourself my teammate," Shikamaru retorted with a grin. He and grinning had started to occur a tad more frequently after he had returned from Ankokugakure. At least he had become just a tad less lazy too.

"Thanks Shika, guess I owe ya one eh?" Naruto asked, giving off a foxy grin.

"Nah, forget about it. Only way you'd be able to pay me back is by not doing that or something similar again for a while; transporting more than myself takes a ton of my chakra reserves, even when over short distances." Shikamaru got off the wall he was leaning on and left the room.

Daisuke and Ten-Ten looked at one another and nodded. "Hey, we're gonna go let Asuma and Anko-sensei know you've come to. Anything you want while we're downstairs?"

"Sure, could you grab me some water, and one for when Hina-chan wakes up?"

Ten-Ten smiled slightly as they left, leaving him with a nod. She slowly closed the door with a _click_ before Naruto started to reflect on things occurring around him lately. The happenings of the last two days at first, then at the events that had happened over the last couple months. Lastly came what had become of his life over the last two years, since Daisuke and Raven had first entered that classroom door and used a substitution to avoid being trampled by first Kiba then Sakura and Ino.

While Naruto was drifting through his memories, he failed to notice the fact that Kyuubi was watching everything that passed through his mind, allowing her to feel whatever emotions he had attached to the memories. This gave her much insight as to the life and workings of Naruto, and found that several things would need to happen if they were both to live without fear.

She watched as one scene, one of a mob of villagers with a variety of weapons came after him when he was just about to turn ten. Kyuubi was speechless as she watched on to what happened next.

"**Oh Kit, I'm so sorry… I swear on my tails that I will make this up to you in every way I can…"** Kyuubi performed some hand signs and slowly reached her hand through the gab of the bars, placing it softly on the floor and muttered a phrase. **"This will help ease the mental anguish and stress you have associated to all these memories, Kit. Soon, I will help you become strong enough to prove you are my jailor, not the demon they think you are."**

She glanced on the memory of when Naruto and Hinata had first kissed. Several strings in her heart were plucked as she saw the whole scenario unfold before her, and a very bright smile crossed her face. **"I may not be able to help you in this form Kit, but apparently I have company on the outside that's already started the job. And I think that your mate would love to help as much as possible, so I might be able to give her all the guidance and assistance I can."**

Asuma and Anko came quietly into the room where Naruto and Hinata were still out cold, seeing them both asleep on the large bed.

Anko smirked at the sight. "Still can't believe the gaki finally realized what was going on. What about you Asuma, did you think he would ever figure it out? Or were you thinking he would've continued for all time after that pink-haired banshee of a fan girl?"

Asuma slowly crunched on his candy stick a moment. "My surprise is that her father is completely fine with it, as long as they understand professional and personal times. That was the most amazing part to this whole thing right here."

Anko snorted as she made her way out of the doorway, where Asuma took one last glance at them before he closed the door silently. The two jonin made their way back downstairs to where the other three genin were chatting with Tazuna and Tsunami, his daughter, about how construction and training was going.

Just as the two of them got down the stairs, there was a loud 'I'm home!' from the front door as a young boy came into the room, first with a cheerful smile on his face. Until he saw the group of ninja from the night before sitting around the large living room.

"Why are you idiots still here? The longer you stay here the more likely you're going to die!" Before anyone could say anything, he ran straight up the stairs and into his room.

Tazuna sighed and took a swig of his sake bottle.

"I'm so sorry about how Inari is behaving to all of you. It's merely just his way these days, since he lost the closest thing he had to a father." Tsunami let out a remorseful sigh as she told them the story of the man named Kaiza that had saved Inari's life from bullies one day, and then became his living idol. Her son had worshipped the man until he died at the hands of Gato while trying to protect the small village. Inari had taken Kaiza's death much worse than anyone else in the village.

"At least he had the chance to have both a mother and father figure in his life. He's had that much luck," Daisuke said, adjusting the sunglasses on his face. "I only have my slightly older cousin Kommando, and some survivors from the village I was originally born in. Other than that, I know of no one else that I am possibly related to by blood."

Ten-Ten squeezed his hand as she added her own story. "I am also an orphan, my parents were both killed during the attack over twelve years ago by the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and they were the only family that were recorded in the village annals. I was adopted by friends of my parents, and have become the daughter they could never have."

Tsunami looked at the two young ninja in front of her with an empathic look, as if saying 'I can only imagine the hardships you have faced'. Tazuna put his bottle on the table and looked them both over solemnly.

"But it's because of those events that we have became shinobi of our villages. To become strong and to protect those dear to us, and to prevent further darkness from enveloping this world." Daisuke sat back and tilted his head back against the couch.

Anko sat down in one of the easy chairs and leaned back at everyone. "So how did the training go today, minus that gaki's exertion fiasco?"

Shikamaru sat forward with his arms crossing his chest. "Well, I managed to get about halfway up the tree with the first few attempts. I can reach two thirds the way up as of Naruto's accident."

Ten-Ten retold the short story of her demonstration of her grasp on the control exercise, while Daisuke retold his results.

"Well, I was at about the same rate of success as Naruto, minus the launching myself from the tree. I think that by the end of tomorrow's training, I'll be able to get halfway up the tree no problem."

"And what about Hinata, how far did she get today?" Asuma asked, playing with his out-of-use lighter.

"She was a few feet below me by the time Naruto asked for her help. By the looks of it, she'll be the first one after Ten-Ten to make it to the top of the tree without breaking a sweat," Shikamaru said lazily.

"Good, then all seems to be progressing nicely. C'mon guys, let's go get some rest for tomorrow's work."

Everyone left for their rooms, looking forward to the sleep they'd be getting that night, but not so much the work they would have to deal with the next day.


	21. Snapping a Single Thread

SEE THE BOTTOM FOR A SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN!

Notes: Hehehehe. I am glad that you all enjoyed the revelation of Kyuubi and her true introduction into the story. That was one of the easier parts that I've written.

I went back and rewrote something that I didn't catch until Shawny Wong left his last review, which led to a misconception. Sorry bout that, I should have been focused on my wording when I was getting that chapter into shape for publishing.

Now, as to what GraitytheWizard wrote, I shouldn't burn out as long as people keep leaving reviews. Consider your reviews my food; that's why I don't start working on the next chapter until I manage to get at least 1 review, and I wait to publish until just before the stroke of midnight or I've broken 100 hits on the last chapter I put out. But alas, life goes on and, if things go accordingly and work out, I may be developing a new 'relationship', so my current rate of updates and publishing will be somewhat diminished, but you can still look forward to at least 3-4 chapters a week, at the very least.

Now, on to today's installment, 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate' chapter 20!

* * *

The training had been rigorous for everyone but Ten-Ten over the next three days. Ten-Ten simply watched the progress each of the others was making as she absent-mindedly sharpened and cleaned her entire inventory of weapons she carried, one weapon style at a time.

Shikamaru was almost to the top of the tree he had been working on. His tree didn't show the telltale signs of kunai marks and craters as Daisuke's and Naruto's did, since he would simply place a shadow marker where he would stop before falling back to the ground.

Hinata, as expected, had mastered the exercise the day before and was acting as the referee in the contest to see who got up the tree first between Naruto and Daisuke. Both boys had increased their individual progress by leaps after Naruto had recovered from his concussion, but he still wobbled a bit now and then after a full day of training.

She giggled slightly to herself, remembering what happened when they were heading back to Tazuna's and Naruto tripped on a rock in the middle of the path. Consequentially, he promptly landed on the person in front of him, who just so happened to be Hinata.

"_Oi, keep it in your pants for the rest of the mission Naruto! You'll get plenty of time to pursue that when we get back home," came Daisuke's first round of teasing, seeing Hinata on her stomach with Naruto also on his, but laying down on top of her. Ten-Ten turned redder than a tomato and started to playfully pummel her boyfriend as Shikamaru mumbled something and watched on with a smile barely gracing his lips._

Daisuke seemed to strangely progress as fast as Naruto, even though Daisuke didn't have the effect of a concussion hanging over his head as it did over Naruto's.

Anko and Asuma had still been switching off between guard shifts, mixing up who took first and second each day. When everyone was done for the day they would all return to the house Tazuna and his family lived in, there was always some light conversation until Inari would return home.

Inari.

He had proven to be rather argumentative and stubborn; much like Naruto had been when everyone first would meet him. He would always be cheerful when returning until he would see the ninjas of Konoha sitting around, idly chatting. That would be when he started 'pissing and moaning', as Anko liked to put it. Everyone was doing well in putting up with it, until the fifth day after they had arrived with Tazuna.

"I'm home!" Inari called out as he tossed his satchel onto the side table as he entered the house. He walked through the doorway into the living room, and as usual he was greeted by the group of shinobi that he had been trying to drive away since they arrived. 'I don't wanna see anyone else die because of Gato, so what are they doing here still? Don't they realize what's gonna happen if they don't leave now and just forget about us?'

Instead of spouting his routine speech about their lack of self-preservation, he just walked alongside the walls and made his way upstairs quietly. He slammed the door to his room and took a glance at the room he had grown up in. Nothing much more than his bed, the dresser across from it, and the one picture on the dresser.

He went over to it and gently picked up the picture, gazing at it through rapidly blearing vision. 'Oh Dad, why'd you have to go and stand up to Gato?'

Inari put the picture down and went out his window, sitting down on the small patio that Kaiza had built for him to sit on and enjoy the view of the sea from just before he was grotesquely murdered in front of the village. Before Inari could realize it, he had taken a step on the wrong part of the small outcropping.

* * *

"Naruto, think you could go and get Inari for dinner?"

Naruto just looked at the old drunk sitting at the table, but didn't say a word as he got up and moved to grudgingly retrieve the little snot ball from wherever he was hiding himself.

He stood in front of the door that led into Inari's room and gently knocked on the wood. "Hey Inari, your grandfather wants you downstairs, it's dinner time."

A moment passed and Naruto hadn't heard anything. So he knocked again, this time a bit harder. "C'mon Inari, we're waiting for you."

A few more moments passed and Naruto was starting to lose his patience. 'What the hell is going on with this kid anyways? I understand he's still depressed over the guy who had taken Inari in like his own son, but that's no excuse now as it happened over a year ago…'

Still no response came after that second attempt at being polite. Naruto was furious now, thinking he was being straight-out ignored by the snot-bubble.

He took one long breath and proceeded to bang on the door. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING INARI? DINNER'S READY, YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

When Naruto still received no acknowledgement from the occupant, he coulnd't take it anymore. He pressed his hands together and rubbed them furiously. He pulled his right fist back and brought it forward with tremendous force, enough force so that there was a large enough hole in the door for Naruto to poke most of his arm through and unlock the door knob.

Anger was radiating off his body as he scanned the room, noting the lack of most anything but the barest of essential things. With the room lacking the person he'd been sent to retrieve for the meal, he took notice of the open window and walked to it.

He poked his head out the window, and found no one sitting or standing on the small patio. He got onto the patio and took a look around. 'Still no sign of that little runt, where could he be?'

Naruto glanced down to the ground, and the sight that he was seeing shocked him deeply.

"HOLY FUCK!"

* * *

Everyone inside the house jerked their heads in the direction they had just heard Naruto scream. Before either Tazuna or Tsunami could say anything, the group from Konohagakure were almost invisible blurs as they ran up the stairs and to Inari's room. They entered and saw a paralyzed Naruto standing outside the window. None of them took notice of the condition of the door as they hurried out to him.

Asuma was the first to reach him as Anko took a look around after she came out. Hinata rushed up and placed her hands onto Naruto's arm, while the other genin stayed in the room.

Asuma bent down and looked him straight in the eye. "What happened Naruto? Where is Inari?"

Naruto could only look him blankly in the ey. Asuma could see the life usually in the blonde's eyes was gone. "What happened Naruto. Tell me where Inari is."

All Naruto could do in response was say one word. "Ground."

At that moment, Anko nearly fell back into the window, her hand having shot up to cover the gasp she let out. Asuma looked down from the patio, and saw what had made Naruto freeze.

"Oh dear Kami…"

Asuma closed his eyes, preparing himself for what was about to happen.

"Hinata, I need you to stay with Naruto for the time being, until he calms down." She nodded as she started to gently pull Naruto's arm, attempting to guide him back to his room. "Daisuke, Ten-Ten, I need you to go and inform Tazuna and Tsunami that they are going to need to be calm when Shikamaru comes out of the shadows into the living room. So you will also need to create a big shadow for him to enter the room, carrying Inari's body." The two genin nodded and made their way out of the room. "Shikamaru, you heard me, come down with me to Inari's body."

Shikamaru let out an inaudible noise before he came onto the patio and looked down briefly. His eyes widened momentarily at the sight, then recomposed himself and jumped down. He landed softly and felt Inari's body for a pulse and internal injuries. Asuma turned to Anko, and looked her over.

"Anko, I think you should go and make sure that Naruto is okay. Make sure that Hinata keeps Naruto calm, and comfortable. Last thing we need is for this to negatively affect what we are going to be facing in no more than two days at most."

The special jonin nodded dumbly, and took a moment to gather herself again before she made her way to locate the younger couple. After she left, Asuma looked back at Shikamaru, who was finished checking on Inari. "Go ahead and take him through your Shadow Portal into the house, Daisuke and Ten-Ten should have made a big enough shadow for you to use by now. Just inform Tazuna and Tsunami that I will be in after a moment. I have to look at something."

The lazy shadow user nodded idly and gently turned the small boy onto his back, folding the small arms over his chest. He made one last move to close Inari's eyes before he formed the hand signs and vanished into the shadows.

The chain-smoker looked at everything around him, the roof, the patio, the ground below. He was about to go in when something reflective caught his attention. He turned back and knelt down, placing his hand on the spot that caught his eye. He put his hand on it, and brought his hand back up to his eyes. His fingers were slick to the feel and very cold to the touch.

* * *

The masked figure looked back one last time at the house in the clearing. After making sure that it's plans had been successful, the figure disappeared in an ice mirror, leaving a small puddle of freezing water on the ground below where the conjured portal had been.

'Zabuza-sama should have a much easier time, now that their morale is much lower…'

* * *

Okay peoples, I've got something important to do that's gonna take all day for me to do, literally. So I'm gonna start work on the next chapter after this gets put out. I'll do as much as I can tonight, and hopefully be able to finish it up tomorrow night after I get home. Til then, ja ne.

* * *

Alrighty guys, this is an update for you all; the event that I took part of on 3/15 went from seven in the morning to one thirty the morning on 3/16. I was sore all over, exhausted, and hungry by the time I was done, so I spent most of yesterday recuperating by sleping and eating.

Now I'm sorry I haven't updated since Friday, but I've got some huge things going on with chapter 21 that is going to blow all of you away, so just be patient. The chapter will be well worth the wait.


	22. First Bloodshed

Notes: Muahahahahaha. I got exactly the kind of reaction I desired with the events of last chapter. Oh yes, yes I did. And you people thought I was going to be kind…

There is a reason why I'm called 'Demon of the Crimson Ink', and last chapter was only the beginning.

Onto today's installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 21!

* * *

A hole in the ground was at the center of the massing of people, all eyes downcast as the small coffin was put into the ground by some of the men from the small village. All the people gathered were in black, women with black screens covering their faces, little children in their black robes, men in their most formal attire for the sincere occurrence.

The shinobi of Konoha were dressed in all black versions of their normal attire, even down to the cloth their hitai-ite used. They kept themselves separate from the group as the pall bearers proceeded to cover up the coffin, forever placing the body of Tazuna's grandson Inari in the clutches of the earth.

"We have to avenge him…' was the only thing that had been said since they had departed the funeral, before any of the villagers could say anything. No one knew exactly who had done the heinous crime, but they all knew that Gato was somehow behind it.

After the news had spread the day before, almost all the villagers came to the bridge builder's house to ask that the ninja would please rid them of Gato, no cost was too high for their services at this point. Anko and Asuma simply said that if Gato himself were to present himself to them that they would do whatever it took to repay Gato for his misdeeds, at no additional cost to the village.

An hour later found Tazuna and Tsunami back in their home, both occupying their minds as best they could in their own fashion. Tsunami was busying herself with demanding that she clean and launder all the clothes and linens in the house, even those of the Konoha shinobi. Tazuna simply drank himself stupid.

Asuma and Anko grimly looked over their students. Anko could sense the emotions off Ten-Ten who could hardly hide anything, but Daisuke was silent and stoic, behind those sunglasses of his. Anko got up from her seat and walked over to her two genin. "C'mon imouto, otouto, let's go take a walk."

Both teens solemnly nodded and got up, following her out of the house.

Shikamaru crossed his arms as he lowered his gaze to the table in front of everyone. 'I can't believe that little kid is gone.' "I'm gonna go outside and clear my head with some cloud watching."

Asuma simply nodded as Shikamaru left, leaving him with a drunkenly unconscious Tazuna and the couple that were sitting on the couch on the far side of the room. "I'm going to go examine the bridge site, make sure everything is fine. You two stay here and keep an eye out for anything that could cause aproblem and protect Tazuna and Tsunami."

A weak 'h-hai' and an equally weak nod were all that Asuma got from his students as he slowly left the house and went on his way.

Before too long, Naruto and Hinata started to hear the drone of Tazuna's drunken slumber cause him to snore loudly. A disgruntled look briefly crossed the Hyuuga heiress' face before she turned to her pillow.

"C-come on Naruto-kun, we should leave Tazuna-san to his s-sleep," she said, gently but forcefully pulling the blonde off the couch with her and up to the room they had been told they could have their 'privacy' time in undisturbed peace during their limited off-time. Naruto closed the door behind him with a _thud_ as Hinata took a seat by the big window on a bench couch.

"I still can't believe that little twerp is really gone…" Naruto said as he took his place on the other end of the couch. Hinata gently eased against him and laid herself between him and the back of the piece of furniture, her head resting in the nook of his shoulder as her left shoulder rested under his armpit.

"I know what you m-mean, Naruto-kun." She closed her eyes halfway, keeping her gaze fixed on Naruto's face as he placed his right hand on her upper arm and started to gently run his fingers over her skin. "I mean, it was j-just yesterday that we had seen him, and not l-long afterwards we fou-found him dead…"

"Don't worry Hinata-chan, whoever did that to him is going to receive the same fate," Naruto whispered. He leaned his head down and rubbed his face in Hinata's hair, causing the young kunoichi to blush as she pressed her body further into the armpit of his shirt. "Mmmm, you smell so nice."

In turn, Hinata inhaled the scent that was her pillow deeply. "You do too, Naruto-kun."

Before too long, both genin fell asleep from the deep breathing of each other's scents, failing to notice the calls coming from downstairs.

* * *

"Naruto! Hinata!" Tsunami called out, struggling against the arms that were holding her tightly. "Please, someone help me!"

"I would suggest that you stop struggling and listen carefully," came the voice from the masked oinin restraining Tsunami. "If you do not keep quiet and simply come with me, the consequences of your non-compliance will be rather dire and quite regrettable."

Tsunami shook her head furiously, and was about to call out to anyone that was in ear shot, until the oinin spoke one last thing, placing their hand over her mouth to effectively silence her.

"Or would you like to for me to send you to the same fate that I sent your small son, Inari? Because, that can easily be arranged."

Tsunami's eyes bulged out from the shock as the comment hit home. Her surprise was so great that she fainted at realizing this person was admitting to having killed her son, and apparently wouldn't hesitate to do the same to her.

'Good, at least she was willing to listen to reason. Zabuza-sama will be glad to find that I have a bargaining chip for tomorrow.'

With that thought, the oinin took the limp form of Tsunami and both figures vanished through the use of an ice mirror.

* * *

Asuma walked into the house, returning from examining the almost-completed bridge site. When he entered the living room, he froze at the site in front of him.

Almost everything in the room was either torn up or scattered. Papers littered the floor, there were senbon needles embedded into everything. The furniture was tipped over or tattered to shreds with dark liquid covering some spots. In the one easy chair in the room, Asuma found a large lump of ice enveloping it. On closer inspection, the jonin discovered that the lump of cold was acting as a prison for the body of the bridge builder Tazuna.

Before anything else happened, Asuma ran upstairs and searched each of the rooms. When he finally arrived in the room that Naruto and Hinata used for cuddling during off-duty hours, he found there to be a powerful genjutsu on the two genin on the couch. He formed a hand sign, and released the jutsu that had been placed on the two of them.

After a moment, the two shinobi started to awaken, their eyes fluttering as they began to take in their surroundings. Hinata immediately leapt off the couch upon seeing their sensei standing over them, scared shitless almost.

"Gomen, Asuma-sensei, we didn't-" Naruto started, but was cut off as their sensei butted in.

"Are you two okay? I just released a very powerful illusion that seems to have put the two of you into a heavy slumber."

Hinata and Naruto stared dumbly at the jonin. "Is everything okay? Where are the others at?" she asked hurriedly, peeling herself from Naruto. Both genin followed their sensei as he motioned for them to follow him. When they reached the lower story, they witnessed the scene that Asuma had been confronted with not more than ten minutes beforehand.

"Oh Kami…"

"H-how did this happen sensei?" Hinata cautiously asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, Hinata, but it appears as if someone is trying to either lower our morale or tempt us into a fight."

Just then, Anko burst into the room, her students carrying a knocked out Shikamaru in between them. "What the hell happened here?" she demanded, fuming at the ears as she took several glances at every aspect of the destroyed living room. Her eyes immediately stopped when she saw the form of Tazuna in a block of ice.

Shikamaru was placed carefully on a couch that had apparently not been ruined beyond repair as Daisuke and Ten-Ten looked around the room for themselves.

"Looks like whoever did this also was the person that killed Inari yesterday," Asuma said.

Anko looked at him before plopping to the ground on her ass. "How do you know that?"

"Because, just as I was about to head back in to inform Tsunami and Tazuna of Inari, I caught a glimpse of something on the corner of the patio. After bending down to look at it, I put a finger on the spot and found that it was once a spot of ice."

"Hey everyone, look up at the ceiling," Ten-Ten said, pointing up.

Everyone that was awake or not frozen glanced up, and found a single kunai stuck in the wood of the ceiling. Anko swiftly jumped up, removed the kunai and tossed it to Asuma as she fell back to the ground.

"Seems as if it was left by the intruder, and there's also a note here," he said as he unfolded a small paper wrapped around the handle.

He read it over and handed it to the snake jonin. "Strange, the intruder is admitting that they were the one to have killed Inari, and are saying to be at the bridge tonight in less than an hour or they will also kill Tsunami."

Ten-Ten and Hinata both gasped, while Naruto trembled with rage. Daisuke was too busy to pay attention as he attempted to wake up the lazy Nara.

"Well, we really have no choice. If they kill Tsunami, then the village will not do anything with the bridge, even though it's almost complete." Asuma scratched his beard, looking at his students.

Anko smirked as she took the kunai from her fellow jonin and shoved it up her sleeve. "I say we accept the challenge. Who knows, maybe this person is working with Zabuza?" Anko questioned after looking the note again.

"All that matters is that we get Tsunami back at this point. If we run into Zabuza, so be it, we'll get to finish the fight from last week; if not, just means we're going to be tired out for when Zabuza actually comes after Tazuna again." With that, Asuma pulled out his trench knives and looked them over. "Alright, as soon as Shikamaru wakes up, we're leaving. Everyone needs to go get all the gear they're going to need for a full-out fight."

The others all nodded in quiet agreement, and went off to retrieve their gear as Asuma sighed, having been left with trying to wake up Shikamaru.

"How troublesome, having to face Zabuza already…" came the voice of the cloud-watcher as his sensei was about to shake his shoulder.

Asuma grinned as he sat down on the floor. "So I see you can play possum fairly well."

"I figured it would be best to not interrupt."

"Well now we need to prepare, so get your gear." Asuma left the house as the rest of the group was getting their equipment ready for the imminent fight they would be facing soon. 'This is gonna be a bitch…'

* * *

"Ah, Haku. It seems that you were able to bring me a hostage for our meeting," Zabuza said, hefting his sword into position on his shoulder. "It's a shame that we only have her, but killing her little brat seems to have made quite the impact on the entire village, to our favor of course."

"Of course, Zabuza-sama. That is why I suggested it," the masked oinin said, adjusting the lump of a woman on its shoulder slightly. "To have to deal with the death of an innocent and then fight shortly after is a most difficult thing to do. Their confidence and concentration will be diminished greatly, giving us the greatest opportunity to complete our mission."

Zabuza looked at the sky and then at his apprentice. "Let's go Haku, we need to be at the site soon, before they get there."

"Hai, Zabuza-sama." With that, both nukenin departed from the front door of their small hut.

* * *

'Everyone's prepared right?"

Each of the genin slowly checked their persons without losing eye contact with their senseis. Naruto was using one hand to rummage in his sack at his right hip, double checking that he had everything he needed. Hinata ran her hands down her vest, stopping at each of the stitch-ridges, making sure each concealed pouch was full of kunai, shuriken, and her special medicinal cream. Shikamaru felt his holsters and made sure they were full to the brim with both kunai and shuriken, then nodded slowly. Asuma gripped his trench knives solidly as his looked at Anko.

Anko flicked her wrist and three kunai appeared in each hand, then she flicked it the other way and they vanished from whence they came. She glanced at her students, standing slightly apart from each other. Ten-Ten was checking her scrolls and counting out each one she had on her, and nodded at her sensei when she saw that she felt that she was sufficiently armed. Anko turned to Daisuke who was slowly rotating his tonfa at his sides, not bothering to check the pockets of his trench vest for anything else Anko may have insisted he needed.

"Alright you guys, this is going to be much different, as you know, then any other fight you may have ever been in," Asuma said, taking a serious tone in his voice. "We are going to be facing a jonin-level opponent, an opponent that could easily be at least chunin level in skill, and also have to deal with this being a hostage situation."

Each of the young shinobi in front of them made no noise or inclination to distract them in affirmation or declination. They simply looked forward and waited, not wanting to let anything make them lose focus of the situation.

Anko stepped forward, clearing her throat. "Alright, one last thing: we need to create a plan on how to come out of this with all of us and Tsunami alive."

Asuma pointed at Shikamaru. "I believe you already had something like this planned, after playing possum in the living room when everyone returned, right Shika?"

"Yeah, yeah." The lazy genin looked everyone over, expecting to find them glaring daggers at him but found them all being patient with him for once. "Okay, since no one's going to interrupt, then here's how it's going to happen."

"Since Zabuza is stronger, he's going to need at least three of us taking him on, one jonin and two genin. For him I would suggest Asuma, Daisuke, and myself. With Asuma and Daisuke staying in close quarters, I can keep back and lend a helpful shadow hand in case he attempts to use the water clones against us." The shade-bearing genin and the former chain-smoker jonin nodded, letting him continue.

"Since we don't know how this oinin works, except through a manipulation of water, and possibly ice as determined through evidence at both the scene of Inari's death yesterday and the ice prison that Tazuna is in, I would have Anko and Naruto move in against the fake hunter-nin if need be. Anko will be able to provide a distractive cover fire with her endless amount of kunai, as Naruto moves in close to perform close-range jutsus, and overwhelm the enemy with his shadow clones and his strange undefined taijutsu." Anko looked at the blonde genin and stuck her tongue out at him, causing Naruto to smirk and pull the lower eyelid of his left eye down and spit a raspberry at her.

"That will leave Hinata and Ten-Ten to play backup or rescue Tsunami, if they decide to put all their chips on the table. If any of the genin get hurt, one of you will ned to replace them if they can't continue their role in the fight." Both kunoichi looked at each and then at the jonin, nodding firmly.

"Alright then, we have to leave before we waste any more time; Tsunami's life, as well as the life of this entire village, is on the line ehre." Anko turned around and everyone followed her as she started leading them to the bridge.

* * *

Moments passed as they finally left the tree cover of the forest and landed as a group at the site of the bridge project. There were tools laying around everywhere as signs of the workers' rush to hear the news about Inari the day before. Apparently none of the workers had decided to come back since and properly care for the tools, as there was still some dirt or dust on most of them

"Let's head onto the bridge. It's most likely they're going to be expecting us on the bridge itself. But don't let anything get to you: the last thing we need is for one of you to get overwhelmed by the situation," Asuma said, heading onto the large bridge.

By the time they had made it to the halfway point of the bridge, the shinobi of Konoha found themselves confronted with the sight they'd been expecting: there stood Zabuza, now dressed in all dark blue from his sandals to his sleeveless shirt, the oinin that had simulated Zabuza dying, and hanging from a rope tied to the rafters above was an unconscious Tsunami.

"Ah, so good of you to join us. Now let's get this started." Zabuza pulled his sword from its place on his back and took a charging stance. "If you are able to defeat us, you will have the woman back and the life of the bridge builder will be spared from Gato."

"Remember the plan!" was all Anko could say before Asuma jumped towards the larger man, knives at the ready to strike. Daisuke was soon following him, as Shikamaru cautiously jogged after them. Zabuza swung his sword down at Asuma as he came into range, his massive blade clashing against the knives the Konoha jonin brought up to block. Zabuza was sidetracked with his attempt to overpower his first opponent that he failed to notice Daisuke come at him with his tonfa poised to slice his arms off. Upon the impact of his blades to Zabuza's arms, he realized something. "Fuck, a water clone!"

The Zabuza that Asuma had been fending off dissipated into a puddle of water immediately, and before anyone could say a single thing, they could hear Zabuza's voice call out his next move. "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" The middle of the bridge was quickly smothered in a thick mist, preventing everyone from seeing anything beyond three front in front of them.

* * *

"Shit!" Anko yelled. "C'mon blondie, let's get to work!" She moved to press through the mist in hopes of getting the drop on their target, but soon found themselves already in front of the oinin.

"And what work would that be?" the masked shinobi asked, bringing their hands up to show several senbon between each finger. "Let me guess, some of you take on my master, some of you occupy me, and the rest of you attempt to save the woman. Correct?"

Anko smirked as she produced kunai from her sleeves and ran at the oinin. "It doesn't really matter, for none of you will live if you proceed to pursue this fruitless endeavor to protect that old man," the figure said as they jumped back, throwing senbon at an alarming rate. Anko blocked with her kunai, then threw one at the mask her opponent wore. The senbon-wielding figure was unable to dodge completely, but was able to turn its head enough so as to have the kunai dislodge the mask from its face and knock it over the side of the bridge.

Naruto gasped as he saw the figure turn its face back towards the others, revealing a pretty girl. "What the hell is going on here?" he yelled, seeing the freshly-announced girl proceed with several hand signs.

"Your defeat, young genin."

Before anyone was able to say anything, the girl in the battle kimono formed the last hand sign and shouted, "Secret Art: Crystal Ice Mirror!" Shortly thereafter, Anko and Naruto found themselves separated from the kunoichi genin as a dome rapidly appeared around them and the enemy.

"What the fuck is this, you bitch?" the snake-jonin demanded, trying to keep her temper down.

"I figured what better way to succeed in my goal than to not hold back? This is my bloodline limit. It's an almost extinct kekkei genkai that allows me to manipulate water and wind into ice, to perform ice jutsu. This is the pinnacle of my efforts to survive, the Crystal Ice Mirror." Several senbon came from multiple directions at Naruto. He caught sight of this at the last second and barely dodged them, but not all of them. A few lodged themselves into his right arm, as some landed in his left shoulder blade. "No matter how fast you may be, you will eventually get worn down from the constant dodging of my needles."

Anko looked around fervently, trying to locate the girl. "Where the hell are you? Show yourself!"

"I don't have to, as this ultimate jutsu allows me to travel at incomparable speeds from one of my mirrors to another. Nothing you can do will slow me down, let alone stop me at any given time."

Anko turned to look behind her as she located this voice was in a higher mirror. "Found you!" exclaimed the pissed off jonin, sending several kunai at the mirror she had targeted. Anko smirked as she thought she had won, but her face faltered as she heard the kunai shatter against the mirror and then was struck in the shoulder by a handful of needles.

"Now you won't have the ability to use that arm for a while. You see, I've been a killing device for many years, and just one of my practices is to use the senbon needle." Naruto turned and found that several senbon were heading for his chest. He quickly turned, knowing that he would need to preserve his energy, and the needles embedded themselves into his left arm. "My accuracy is exact to the point where I can land direct hits on any blood vessel or pressure point, whether it's to stop blood loss or to paralyze, without even the slightest thought." More senbon came at Anko, pinning her right foot to the ground.

The two of them struggled against the loss of bodily control, their assorted limbs refusing to work as they were ordered to. "It's no use trying to move; the senbon that have made their marks are in places that control vital movements and motor functions. Even if you were to remove them now, the process to restore the use of your body to full potential would take days of excruciating pain."

"Dammit! I can't move!" Naruto yelled, his limbs still not performing.

"It's useless, give up now and I may spare you," said the girl, having come out of her mirror to stand right in front of the blond, senbon in between each finger of her right hand as she brought it back, with the possibility to punch him in the neck.

"Fuck you!" he spat back.

The girl sighed as she flung her hand and the senbon needles forward, embedding the metal into the delicate flesh of his neck. She smirked but was caught off guard as Naruto exploding in a poof of white smoke. "A shadow clone?"

"Hah! You fell for our trick!" Anko smirked, despite the amount of pain it caused her. 'You better get your part done, you blonde gaki.'

"No matter, for in the end, none of you will live." The young girl launched herself into another mirror and started preparing for her next attack on the now abandoned jonin.

* * *

"Now you get to see why I am called a demon," came Zabuza's voice from all around the three Konoha shinobi. "There was once a tradition in Kirigakure, a tradition for passing the Academy to become genin."

"Don't they all use the same exam over here on this side?" Daisuke said, glancing back and forth between his sides. 'This isn't good, I can't find his signature…'

"**Don't worry, Kitten. I'll help you out,"** a voice came through his mind.

'What the fuck? Whose there?' he thought to the emptiness of his mind, careful to not upset the events occurring around him.

"**No time to talk right now Kitten, you've got a rat to catch, and I'm going to fulfill that promise I made all those years ago as of now,"** was all he got in response.

Before Daisuke could respond to the voice, he found Asuma shoving him out of the way as Zabuza appeared between him and Shikamaru, swinging his sword in a downward strike at his head. The two of them skidded as they collided with the ground as Shikamaru jumped away to avoid the reversed strike aimed for his abdomen.

'Very agile, you Leaf nin are these days," the nukenin taunted. He performed a series of one-handed signs, and three more water clones appeared to replace the first one Daisuke had destroyed. "That old tradition that had been practiced was much different than what you thought, you dumb westerner. Kiri used to have a very… distinct selection process."

"You would spend the entire time of your Academy career with your classmates, eating together, learning together, sleeping together. At the end, when you were all ready to become genin for Hidden Mist, the only thing you had to do was…" Zabuza's clones rushed to each of the three nin and pulled their swords up above their heads. "Kill your entire class!"

With that, each of his clones swung their swords down in an executioner style.

* * *

"Hinata! Ten-Ten! Go and get Tsunami now!" Naruto yelled out from behind them, the direction where they had originally come from.

The two kunoichi snapped out of their daze in the thick fog, and nodded to each other. Wordlessly, they ran to the spot where they had last seen Tazuna's daughter dangling from a rope. When they approached the site, Hinata nodded again at Ten-Ten.

The weapons-expert pulled out a single kunai from her hip holster and flung it up at the rope that was keeping the hostage suspended in the air above them. Hinata prepared herself to catch the older woman as she saw the weapon climb up, but both genin were speechless as the kunai bounced off an invisible surface.

"Nice try, but none of you are going to succeed, so just give up and DIE!"

* * *

Naruto had been observing the fights as best he could from a safe distance near the end of the bridge. When the mist jutsu was called on, he had no choice but to move forward and keep his eyes open for when his clone would eventually get dispelled and reveal their trick. 'I just hope they can get Tsunami to safety before I gotta get in there for real.'

A moment later and he glanced through the memories that were being transmitted to him from his dispelled clone. 'Shit, time to move!'

"Hinata! Ten-Ten! Go and get Tsunami now!" he exclaimed, rushing into the mist head first. He could barely make out their figures as he then found them stopped under the unconscious figure being held in midair by a single rope. He could barely make out the movement of Ten-Ten's arm as she launched a kunai to severe the rope, and the feeling of disappointment entered his mind as he too noticed it getting deflected.

"Nice try, but none of you are going to succeed, so just give up and DIE!"

Horror struck Naruto like a brick into a window as he saw the next moment repeat itself in his mind.

The figure he had learned from his clone to be a girl only a couple years older than him and the rest of his group emerged from the invisible mirror which had deflected the kunai's attempt. The girl produced several senbon in her hands, and launched them with deadly accuracy.

His world seemed to slow down to a snail's pace within the blink of an eye. He could only look on in dismay as he saw the needles land themselves directly into the shoulders and necks of the two kunoichi that stood mere feet in front of him. He could only stand there as he witnessed the two of them land on their knees and proceed to fall face-first into the material of the bridge.

"Hn. I told you it was pointless to retaliate against Zabuza-sama. Nothing can stop him or his ultimate tool from completing his goals," the girl said, vanishing back into the mirror and out of sight.

Naruto's eyes widened as realization hit him square in the gut. 'Hi-na-ta-chan… Hina-ta-chan… Hinata-chan…' "Hinata-chan! HINATA-CHAN!" Immediately, his eyes closed tightly and he fell to the ground on his knees.

"**Care to pay that bitch back now Kit?"** came the voice he hadn't heard many times before.

Naruto looked through crimson eyes upon the world around him, red chakra flowing around his body as it emerged from the whisker marks on his face. "Yes, Kyuubi-nee-chan, let's show them not to fuck with Konohagakure shinobi."

* * *

Zabuza's clones all stopped their attacks as they sensed the killer intent emanating from where the hostage was suspended. "What the hell is that? That signature is too strong to be Haku…"

Asuma sensed it too. "Oh fuck…"

Anko was barely able to sense the burst of chakra from inside the dome of ice mirrors as her world started to fade. 'Oh no… he's awakened the demon…' The jonin slumped to the floor, unable to keep conscious from the sheer pain flowing through her body. 'Do.. us… proud, gaki…'

* * *

"**Kitten, it's time we finished this, before that nukenin recovers,"** the voice said to Daisuke. Its tone carried a hint of urgency, and he nodded to himself. **"For this one time, I'm going to need you to trust me Kitten. Remove the gloves you wear and grip your hands to the opposing wrist and focus chakra into your palms, and make it fast."**

Daisuke simply did as he heard the voice said. He quickly removed his gloves and tossed them aside as each hand tightly grabbed its opposing wrist. A burning sensation filled his arms as he poured chakra to his palms, closing his eyes from the pain.

Had anyone been paying attention to him, they would have seen two waves of chakra flowing from Daisuke, one of white chakra flowing from his right arm and a flow of black chakra flowing from his left arm. The two flows converged at his back and wrapped themselves around his body, enveloping him completely in their contrasting energy.

* * *

A similar process was overcoming Naruto as the red chakra that had emitted from his whiskers flowed over his body and formed a flowing cloak over him. His red chakra took a slight shape as he gazed about the bridge and set his eyes on the dome where he knew the girl was hiding.

"Hinata-CHAN!" he roared, raising his right hand into the air and cocking it back as he almost flew at the dome. His hand seemed to have gone from having fingers into having claws as the red chakra changed his hands. The claws elongated and sharpened, then pierced the ice mirrors that were the cage in which his clone and the snake-jonin had been caught in.

The mirror he made contact with showed no signs of damage at first, but then severe cracks started to appear and grew in size after a moment. The mirror Naruto first struck shattered in seconds, leaving a huge hole in the dome of ice.

'Impossible… Nothing can break my Crystal Ice Mirrors, not even Zabuza-sama has been able to…' Haku thought to herself, her mouth agape at the sight she was staring at. Before she could say or do anything, Naruto lashed out at the rest of the mirrors with a simple gesture of his chakra.

One by one, the mirrors were shattered until only Haku remained. Naruto paused, flexing his hand.

"You… will... PAY!" he screamed, charging at the enemy before him.

* * *

"What the hell is this? First that red chakra signature that's stronger than Haku, and now another one that's stronger than mine? What the hell is going on in Konoha?" Zabuza said, having witnessed the figure once enveloped by black and white chakra emerge and instantly lash out with his left arm, destroying the three water clones he had summoned.

"**You're about to find out exactly **_**what**_** happens to our enemies, you filthy 'demon',"** came a deep voice from Daisuke.

Asuma looked on in shock as he watched the figure of the Ankokugakure genin slowly tread forward towards the enemy. "Daisuke, no! Don't! You'll only get killed if you fight him head-on!"

Shikamaru examined the scenario as best he could. 'What the hell is going on here? Where did the two of them get all this chakra from?'

"**Have faith in me, Asuma-sensei. The Nibi no Nekomata will not be defeated by such a… disappointing human."**

Asuma couldn't help but let his jaw fall open at the comment. 'Nibi no Nekomata, the two-tailed Cat Demon? He's the jinchuuriki of Nekomata? But why weren't any of us informed that there was more than one demon-container in Konoha all this time?'

"So, you think that just because you say you're a legendary tailed-beast demon that you can act it and come at me head on?" Zabuza taunted, readying his sword in a forward charge pose.

* * *

"**And the Kyuubi no Kitsune will not fall easily either!"** yelled Naruto, his voice booming as he collided with Haku. His claws slammed into her chest, driving their points deep through the material of her clothing and into her breasts and between her ribs.

She coughed up blood from the impact as the wind was both knocked and pricked out of her. 'This power… but how?'

"**You will die for what you did to my mate! Your soul will spend all of the rest of eternity endearing the worst tortures of hell for killing her and Ten-Ten!"** Naruto yelled out, driving his claws deeper into Haku's chest. Blood was now steadily streaming out the kunoichi's mouth and proceeded to soak every inch of the front of her outfit. She could only stare in awe and horror as she fell to the ground, the last thing she saw being the bloodied claws of her killer getting wiped on her face by Naruto.

* * *

Daisuke halted momentarily as he heard Naruto yell out that Ten-Ten had also met a fate like that of Hinata.

Zabuza noticed this and took his opportunity. "You will die here and now demon, just like all your friends and girlfriend! You won't have to spend the rest of the afterlife alone!" He ran at Daisuke and shoved his sword directly at the upper torso of the genin before him, but the wind was knocked out of him as the end of his sword was stopped by what appeared to be a tail of black and a tail of white chakra.

"**Indeed, if that is true that she was killed, then I will make sure that her death was not in vain!"** Daisuke yelled, clamping his now pointed and sharp claws into the sword Zabuza was clinging onto. Before the nukenin realized it, he was shoved backwards across the bridge and on top of Haku, face down into the ground next to her head.

He could hear the tearing and screeching of metal, barely able to turn his head as he saw that the young genin he had attempted to run through was destroying his sword. The clawed hands were turning the massive sword into mere strips of scrap metal as they tore through it with ease. Red lines on the freshly sundered edges of the ruined sword hissed as they came into contact with the moisture in the still-hanging mist jutsu.

"My s-sword! How could you-"

"**Nothing lasts forever, 'demon'. You of all of us should know that, considering that you ended the lives of so many when you were merely a child."** All eyes belonging to those still conscious fixed onto the form of the shinobi of Darkness as he flung the handle of the now useless sword over the bridge's edge. **"I can see your future, to judge whether you receive the Hand of Grace and proceed to Heaven or find the Hand of Damnation ripping your heart out and sending you straight to Hell."**

"**You killed all the students that were to take the genin exam in your Academy at the meager age of six; it was because of you, a mere child having just barely started the Academy himself, that the council of Kirigakure changed the exam of becoming a genin,"** Daisuke said, stepping forward and stopping as he stood side by side with the red-cloaked figure of Naruto.

They looked at one another for a moment. Asuma could barely sit up due to the strain of the killer intent they were both letting off; Shikamaru laid back and witnessed the goings-on around him through the pressure changes from chakra in the air.

After a moment of unspoken deliberation between Naruto and Daisuke, they nodded at each other and readied themselves for the final blow.

"Ah, well it seems that it was unnecessary for me to come here it seems," came a raspy voice. Daisuke and Naruto turned towards the direction the voice came from, and spotted a short fat man with glasses and a head of gray hair that was going bald. "I had originally come to eliminate Zabuza and his little wench when I heard they had come to finally kill the bridge builder, but I see that you have already planned on doing that for me. I really must thank you."

Naruto and Daisuke eased up from their positions, Naruto's hands from Haku's forehead and Daisuke's own claws and tails from Zabuza's throat. Both boys faced the short man, who apparently had several dozen men with various sharp weapons behind him and sneered.

"**So it was you who hired these two to eliminate Tazuna in order to keep a hold of the Land of Waves under your thumb,"** they both said in unison. The sheer depth of their voices and their presence put a trickle of fear into a large portion of the men behind the newcomer. **"Then it is you who shall die first!"**

Both Daisuke and Naruto rushed the group of men as several stepped forward with their swords drawn. Naruto eased back as Daisuke moved forward and tangled all the swords that came out to greet them, allowing Naruto to leap over everyone and land in the midst of the large group.

"**Hello boys. Care to die?"** Naruto said, a mild tail erupting from the cloak of red chakra just below the belt on his pants in back. They all drew their swords or daggers and merged onto the blonde ninja, in hopes of skewering him with their sheer number to defeat him.

Daisuke had shoved away the first wave and lashed out with his black chakra tail at more that stepped forward, the white tail taping several scratches on his body that started to heal some of the more serious wounds that had landed from the first wave of attacks.

Asuma and Shikamaru were unable to stay conscious any longer as the force of the killer intent was too much for their injured bodies to handle. Had they witnessed any more, and both shinobi would more than likely have found their mouths filled to the brim in their own regurgitations.

The men that had converged on Naruto were flung back as the chakra cloak surrounding him pulsed outwards, shoving all of them away from him. The chakra also did more than just force them back but also disintegrated the clothing or skin it had come into contact with. Some of the men were not wearing any shirts so their chests received heavy burns that burnt down to the bone, causing them to bleed themselves to death on the bridge.

Daisuke was a whirlwind to keep the men from getting to close, his black chakra tail getting longer with each rotation he made. His claws easily tore open the abdomens of those that were able to get through his two tails.

Gato realized that at the rate the two shinobi were going that he himself would soon be dead. So in a last ditch effort to save himself and complete his plans, Gato ran over to the bodies of Zabuza and Haku. In his hand he raised up a knife he had pulled from his sleeve and went to drive it down into the forehead of Zabuza. Until the nukenin had lifted his leg and kicked Gato in the armpit of his upraised arm that is.

"It seems that our contract is broken. So that means I no longer have a reason to seek the life of the bridge builder," the bandaged Mist nin said, slowly rising off the ground. "You, from Ankokugakure wasn't it? May I borrow a kunai?"

Daisuke flung a kunai to the man with his white tail, the chakra-appendage having reached into his vest and pulled it out. Zabuza turned his body back and to the left, catching it with his right hand. He moved his body with the current momentum and plunged the kunai into the left side of Gato's throat.

Blood spewed forth from the kunai wound as Zabuza retracted it, flowing all over the ground in front of the near-dead shipping tycoon. The short man slumped to the ground with his hands futilely grasping his throat in vain attempts to stop the bleeding, but it was over just as his head slammed onto the concrete. "Pathetic," the Demon of the Mist said as he fell backwards onto the bridge.

The goons that had not been injured severely or outright killed looked at Gato's limp and bleeding form for several moments.

"Now that he's dead, who's gonna pay us?" said one of the surviving men.

"I say we take over the village and plunder everything of value!" came another's voice.

"**None of you shall leave this place alive,"** came the calm voice of Daisuke.**"Naruto, go and check on Zabuza and the others. See which ones are and are not dead. I need to know so I can keep as many of these fools alive to do something."**

'**Do as he asks, Kit. I don't think you're in a position to argue with him right now,'** Naruto heard Kyuubi say to him in his mind. He slowly nodded, and the red cloak of chakra and its tail disappeared. He made his way past his friend and looked first at Hinata and Ten-Ten.

"Hina-chan?" he asked softly. "Ten-Ten?" He looked them both over as he knelt down to each one and started to remove the senbon needles that had been lodged into the bodies. He gently shook each of them and found no response. Before he was able to stand up, he felt a pair of hands on each ankle, preventing him from walking over to check on Anko and the others. Naruto slowly turned back, and was overjoyed.

Both Hinata and Ten-Ten, despite the looks of pure exhaustion and pain in their eyes, were looking up at him and over to Daisuke.

"Stay calm you two! We don't need you to aggravate any possible wounds you may have!" He waited for them to weakly nod in response and headed over to Anko. After removing the needles from her body, he made sure to be out of her range as well as eyesight before she came to. He had learned to not be the one to wake her up on more than one occasion.

Naruto walked over to his teammate and sensei and was a little frustrated to find them both snoring despite what had happened in the previous few moments.

The blonde turned and looked at his friend. "Everyone seems to be fine, just exhausted," he said as he walked up to Zabuza and Haku. "But I don't think that the kunoichi will be able to survive wounds I gave her much longer. I did puncture both of her lungs after all."

Daisuke turned his focus back onto the group o men I front of him, smirk plastered right into the middle of his face. **"Just means that I only have to leave two left alive for the jutsu I'll be doing."** In the blink of an eye, the white chakra tail shrank to almost nothing as the black tail of chakra grew ten fold and began lashing into most of the surrounding men.

Only two were left standing after the black tail had eased itself be into a reasonable size, the rest of their comrades were all dead. Each one died in a slightly different manner.

"**Now you two will be used as a sacrifice to make amends for the injustice you had full intention to perform today. You will both forfeit your lives in order to save the life of that dying kunoichi."**

As he spoke, the white chakra tail grew to huge proportions as it whipped out and grabbed both of them by their legs and dangled them upside down as Daisuke walked over to where Zabuza and Haku were.

"**Zabuza-san, I am going to have to ask that you move a bit away, as this jutsu requires some room to succeed."**

The tall nin nodded slowly as Naruto helped him off the surface and guided himself back to where Hinata and Ten-Ten were finally sitting up.

The brunette boy stood above the bloodied body of Haku, his hands forming a rapid series of hand signs. When he landed the last sign perfectly, he called out the name of the move and slammed his hands onto Haku's bloodied chest.**"Forbidden Style: Exchange of the Damned Jutsu!"**

Everyone watched in awe as the two men that had been wrapped tightly by the white tail of chakra began to shrink, their screams of terror and pain muffled by the chakra enveloping them. They noted that the glow that had surrounded Daisuke's hands was now flowing into Haku's body, sealing up the numerous puncture wounds in her chest.

A moment later, and the white and black tails of chakra were no longer visible as Daisuke slumped forward onto his side. "Dai-kun!" screamed Ten-Ten, slowly forcing herself to crawl over to her boyfriend. 'Aneue be damned. After what's just happened, I'm not about to care who sees that we're caring fro each other.

Zabuza shakily stood up and looked upon the girl in front of him. He no longer saw all the years of living a cold hard life with her, and that she was being given a second chance at life. He leaned down and gently scooped her up into his arms and silently made his way past all the corpses and off the bridge from whence they'd came.

Anko stood up hastily in an attempt to chase after them and finish the fight, but Naruto held out his arm to obstruct her path. "No, they have no reason to fight us anymore than we do them at this point. Besides," he said, looking at his team, "we've got other things more important to handle right now."

With the last amount of effort, Naruto formed his signature hand sign and suddenly, several dozen Naruto shadow clones appeared in a huge puff of smoke. "Alright boys, you know what to do: most of you gather and destroy the corpses with that one fire jutsu, the rest of you come and lug us home." Each clone looked at one another and shrugged. They had done worse.

"It's time we head back," Ten-Ten said, rolling Daisuke onto her lap.

"Don't… forget Tsu-nami…" Daisuke said, pointing weakly up to the overhead supports for the bridge at the unconscious form of Tazuna's daughter. With that last effort, Daisuke soon found himself enveloped in a world of nothingness, and he loved it.

* * *

Sorry about the wait, I just figured I might as make my ratio of chapters to days 1:1, plus I just needed get some reading down. But, after several days of tuning this and after 15 in Peanut Butter M&Ms, I have finally produced this chapter for you all. Hope you enjoy it, cause now things are going to Hell in a handbasket for everyone.


	23. Return to the Leaf

Notes: Due to pure boredom and desire to do so just because I can, here is my new assistant in crime, Itachi the Wonder Weasel to do the notes for me!

(Itachi comes out on stage, dressed up in a large fluffy weasel costume.)

Itachi: You know, I don't think many people will get the concept of my costume if they haven't read LavenderWallflower's 'Looking Through Lavender Eyes' story. For that matter, I wouldn't be surprised if the author came after you for using me like this. (Looks himself over) But weasels always were my favorite animal growing up (starts stroking his fake weasel tail).

**Meh, I'll send a message about the reference after I post this chapter. If anything, LWF might get more people to check out LTLE and give enough praise and inspiration to push for more chapters.**

Itachi: Your funeral if LWF doesn't like this.

**You let me worry about that, now get on with the notes you damn weasel, or else I'll put you in a ****ferret**** costume instead.**

(Itachi gulps.) Itachi: Yes, Mighty Ink Demon sir.

Itachi: To answer the concerns of the two anonymous reviews that first replied to this chapter, do not worry.

(Ruffles through papers that he pulls out of the neck of his weasel costume)

The reason Djinn knocked off Inari but didn't have Haku kill Hinata and Ten-Ten was for originality of material. He says that you hardly, if ever at all, see someone willingly kill off a lovable character that you only see for a few episodes such as the whiny little bitch from the Wave Arc. As for Tazuna, his fate will be briefly explained at some point during this next chapter.

As for the reason that Kyuubi 'was in no position to argue' is simply this: while the Kyuubi no Kitsune is obviously outright strongest of all the tailed-beast demons, that doesn't mean that **she** is _currently_ stronger than Nibi no Nekomata. This will be explained in this chapter or the next after this, no worries everyone.

(Looks at the next paper in his hands.)

Now to Dragon Man 180: Djinn only resurrected Haku, not Zabuza. Zabuza was not mortally wounded in his fight with Daisuke before Gato interrupted, so he did not need to be resurrected by the **Exchange of the Damned Jutsu**.

(Throws the papers away.)

Itachi: With those are out of the way, you faithful readers can now get onto today's installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 22!

(Itachi sits down and curls up like a weasel and listens to the story.)

* * *

The Konohagakure shinobi and one Ankokugakure shinobi found themselves getting closer to their home as they slowly walked the path back from their mission to Wave. Each of them still were unable to cope with the events that had occurred on their mission.

Naruto and Hinata were walking silently beside each other, their hands clasping each other's tightly. Hinata was closely leaning against the blonde's arm as she followed his body movements, keeping her eyes closed in hopes to keep the memories of the fight on the bridge out of her mind. Naruto simply laid his head against hers as they walked, breathing in the scent of her hair to calm himself down and preoccupy his mind.

Shikamaru was acting as scout ahead of the group, his shadow portals allowing him to travel and rest at his leisure as long as he managed to keep up with the group and alert them of anything incoming. 'I still can't believe how troublesome that fight was. At least the bridge is finished and Tazuna survived that Ice Prison jutsu. I'm just glad it wasn't as troublesome as I thought. That fake oinin seemed to have just put a mild barrier of ice around him to keep him silent, but not strong enough to stay frozen for more than an hour and not completely fuck up entire body.'

Daisuke was walking alongside Ten-Ten, chatting softly with her about what they were and weren't going to discuss with the rest of their friends. This had been a topic amongst all of the group members, but it was still up in the air about who got to hear what, aside from the Hokage hearing about the whole mission.

Anko and Asuma were in the back as rearguard, both discussing what had happened at the end of the fight. They had pieced together everything they had witnessed, then added the pieces they got from the genin. What was disturbing was that Naruto and Daisuke had been calm and collected about their recollection of their sides of the fights. Anko looked knowingly at the other jonin, and stopped abruptly.

"Alright you lot, we need to stop for a short break before we arrive back at the village."

The four genin turned and faced their senseis, with Shikamaru appearing from the trees shortly after. "I take it we gotta talk about the fight at the bridge?" the lazy shadow-user responded.

"Yes, we need to decide what it is that everyone else aside from Hokage-sama is going to learn about this incident." Asuma looked at Naruto first and then Daisuke. "More importantly, we need to discuss exactly what is going to happen with the fact that there are two demon containers within our village now."

Daisuke stepped forward before anyone else could comment on that. "Before the Hokage is allowed to know about my being the jinchuuriki for Nibi-kaa-san, I must have a meeting with Yamikage-sama about it."

"You mean the leader of your village is unaware of your status?" Asuma said in disbelief. Had he been smoking a cigarette, it would have promptly fallen out of his gaping mouth.

Daisuke walked over and sat down on a log at the side of the road. His hands reached up and rubbed his temples.

"Everything okay, Daisuke?" Ten-Ten asked, walking to him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She conveyed true concern through the mere gesture and caused Daisuke to look up at the rest of the group.

'Yeah, it's just that only a handful of people know about Nibi-kaa-san, and aside from Amanda and Kommando, you're the only one that has seen my eyes behind these glasses," he replied, moving his fingers carefully to grasp the arms of the shades. Everyone stared in shock as his hands came up and forward, still holding the sunglasses within their grasp.

"Since you know of Nibi now, it's only fair of me to show you what my eyes truly look like." Ten-Ten remained calmed but had a worried look on her face as he moved his hand up to his face and slowly removed his sunglasses. The faces of everyone else were frozen as they came to see exactly what Daisuke's face looked like without the mysterious sunglasses.

"DUDE!" Naruto yelled, seeing the different colored eyes with their pentagram cages. "I never thought you'd have such cool eyes Daisuke!"

Hinata could only look on as her boyfriend proceeded to make something of an ass out of himself. She knew all too well what it was like to deal with having eyes different from those around her, but at least her eyes were matching. Her empathy for Daisuke increased greatly after seeing why he always wore his sunglasses.

Shikamaru simply nodded at Daisuke, showing that it made no difference. Anko and Asuma simply took a small look at his eyes before they were about to speak.

"Before you ask, there is more you need to see. After that, we can figure out who learns what."

Both jonin simply nodded as Daisuke put his sunglasses back on. He stood up and rolled up his sleeves, then removed his gloves and let them fall to the ground. Eyes widened as they saw small craters form from the impact.

"Exactly how much weight do you have channeled into those gloves?" Asuma asked tentatively.

"Started out at five pounds when I first started weapons training at seven years old, by now I'd guess I was using fifty pounds worth of chakra pressure in each one." His face showed no quirk or twitch as he answered.

Naruto and Anko's jaws dropped to the ground at hearing that.

'Dude, he's been really holding back in sparring!' the blonde thought in amazement.

Anko mentally smirked. 'No wonder I see him as a little brother more than as a simple rookie genin. He pushes himself without being told to, and doesn't let things get in his way.'

"But the weight of my gloves isn't what I'm about to show you. What you are about to see is the seal that Nibi-kaa-san put on me when she sealed herself in me." Daisuke then gave them the story that he himself had been given by the people that had brought him into Ankokugakure when his home ivllage had been destroyed. With everyone staying quiet, he focused his chakra into his arms, causing both seals to appear on his arms.

"This is the seal that I bear; it is nothing like that seal which was put on you, Naruto; I was selected by the demon rather than a human." Naruto's eyes turned into dinner plates as he realized that though he and Daisuke were similar, they were in different circumstances. "Since she sealed herself willingly, I have no worries of her trying to take my body over or her chakra destroying me when it manifests itself, or so she's told me so far."

The usually hyperactive blonde landed on his ass as he felt the presence in his mind show itself. **"I was wondering why he felt somewhat similar to me when I first met him. Now that Nibi has revealed herself, that makes a lot of sense." **Kyuubi sent a feeling of minor interest into Naruto's mind, followed by a quick instruction. **"Just listen to him for now, Kit. There will be plenty of time for the four of us to discuss things later, after you have returned to the village and reported in on your mission."** The whisker-marked ninja simply nodded to the demon in his mind as Daisuke explained more about his seal.

He put his gloves back on, having grabbed them while Naruto had spaced out. "The reason I have a seal on each arm has yet to manifest _itself_ yet, but it most likely has something to do with the nature of Nibi." Everyone adopted curious looks on their faces at this. "Nibi no Nekomata is something of a demon version of shinigami, or death god. But her power goes a little beyond the basics of just choosing who dies and who goes where after death: her powers also include those of giving and mending life. This I found was illustrated by the two tails I had developed during the fight with Zabuza."

"While you saw my right tail of white chakra resurrect Haku through the life force taken from the two goons I had to sacrifice, you also noticed that my black chakra tail on the left killed most of the rest. It seems that I can only use one tail at a time, so when using a tail for something that requires more concentration, the tail of the opposing force seems to shrink almost to allow me more control over the desired tail, thus securing the performance of the desired power."

"So you're saying that… Nibi no Nekomata… is like a combination of both the Reaper and Kami?" Asuma asked, pulling out a peanut brittle stick and placing it in his mouth. 'Damn kids and their bets…'

Daisuke shook his head. "Not exactly. Though she has a great power for both giving and taking life, it is not completely her decision who does and does not live. She can only use her powers for resurrection and execution when she senses that a shinigami or a tenshi is nearby."

Hinata looked at him with a strange look. "W-what is a tenshi, Daisuke?"

"While the shinigami is a representative of the power of death, a tenshi is the representative of the power of life. They only come near humans during child birth or when someone that has a reason yet to live on is about to die at the wrong time. Such was the case with Haku apparently; she must have a greater purpose to fulfill before she is to die, but a human can only be resurrected once by Nibi's Exchange of the Damned jutsu," he replied.

"Okay, so Nibi basically does the work for shinigami and tenshi on a per-need basis, but why did you have to kill two goons to resurrect Haku?" Asuma asked. This had been plaguing his mind for the last two days since the fight.

"Simple; in order to prevent the soul of the one being resurrected from being taken by a shinigami, you must offer up the souls of two that are more fitting to die."

"Dude, that's kinda fucked up if you ask me," Naruto said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Be that as it may, it does make sense." Daisuke stood up and stretched his arms above his head, looking at the skies. "Now, before you ask me, the reason that I was unable to perform that jutsu for Inari has two reasons. First is that I was not there at the time of his death for Nibi to 'communicate' with the shinigami on hand or any nearby tenshi, and second is that no one suitable enough to take his place were available for the jutsu."

Everyone looked down at hearing this. They had all been thinking of asking him to perform that jutsu on Inari, but none of them had the courage to come out and ask him directly. But now they knew for certain why Daisuke had not resurrected Inari, despite everyone's unspoken request.

"Besides, it would have just freaked out the villagers for them to see Inari running around again after having buried him. Doing the jutsu on him after having just put him to rest would just be an insult to the village, and earn us nothing but their disgust."

Asuma looked at everyone and let out a sigh of resignation. "Alright, since that is out of the way now, we have to discuss the exact information that all of our friends will get; because certainly we can't go around spreading the whole story to the general public. Just imagine the problems we'd have if our enemies found we had two jinchuuriki amongst us."

Daisuke nodded as he stepped behind Ten-Ten and wrapped his aarms around her waist. "Exactly."

Shikamaru laid back onto the path, a sigh escaping his lips. "I say we just tell our friends that we ran into the Demon Brothers at the bridge and then had to deal with only half a dozen swordsman Gato had hired. It'll quell their curiousity and keep us from getting into too much trouble."

Naruto wrapped his arm around Hinata's shoulder, pulling her closer to him. Anko stood up and scratched her chin. "Well that sounds about right to me. What do you say Asuma?"

"That's fine; we just have to make sure that the Hokage and the Yamikage both hear the full story, since Daisuke is technically under the control of Ankokugakure and not us," he responded, passing his hand over the unused lighter in his pocket.

"Well I not only have to tell Jack, I now need to inform Amanda, Kommando, and Carlos too. Amanda and Carlos since they're in charge of the Insane Devils of the village, and Kommando since he's my last piece of family," Daisuke said as his head rest in the nook of Ten-Ten's neck.

"Alright, now that that is all settled," Anko said as she motioned everyone to get up, "we best be getting back on track to the village. The sooner we get all this reported, the sooner we can all sleep in our own beds comfortably."

One by oen they all got back to their feet and readjusted their bags or jackets, and finished their trek in relative quiet all the way to the gates of Konoha.

Izumo and Kotetsu were on guard duty again as they neared the only entrance to the Leaf Village. "Hey guys, glad to see you all back in one piece," Izumo said, pulling a clipboard out of the booth and checking their names off.

Kotetsu looked down from atop the booth at them and asked, "So how did it go? Anything real brutal to share?"

Asuma ignored the glint in the two chunin's eyes as he waved them off, replying with a simple shake of the head.

"Too bad; I personally love to hear about the gruesome fights other shinobi endure on their out-of-country missions," Kotetsu said, closing his eyes and falling back onto the roof of the booth.

Izumo placed the board and papers back in the window and waved them forward. "Hokage-sama is going to be expecting you, now that you've safely returned to us."

"We plan to head straight for his office and report our mission. Thanks for the reminder though, Izumo," Anko said, teasing the chunin with a sway of her hips as she walked past the booth and into the busy main drags which converged just inside the entrance panels.

"Alright, I'll see you guys at the Hokage Tower in a short minute, I have to go get the leaders of my village and clan before we report in." Before any of the others could stop him, he disappeared in a flash and puff of smoke, a trail of it slightly behind him.

* * *

(Itachi yawns in weasel-fashion and looks up.)

One last thing: Djinn will most likely either take Friday the 21st or Saturday the 22nd to perform story maintenance on previously published chapters, to fix minor spelling or grammatical errors out of pure perfectionist mannerisms. So don't be too upset if he only puts out one chapter before next Monday, the 24th.

(Itachi curls back up and starts snoring.)


	24. New Threads join the Fray

(Itachi the Wonder Weasel pops out of nowhere, clipboard in hand.)

Itachi: Okay, chapters 1-23 spiffed up with fixed spelling, grammar, and minor format issues… Check. (scratches off first item on list) Next, give chapters 1-23 spiffy new names… Check. (scratches off second item on list) Third, get to work on chapter 24… Check. (scratches off third thing on list) Anything else? (looks at list.)

**Nope, not as much as I can remember, Wonder Weasel.**

(Itachi jumps slightly.)

**Hahahahaha. Sorry for scaring you, Itachi. I should have made the first announcement, but sitting back and letting you go over the list let me enjoy the first of my new supply of peanut butter M&Ms. Anything else to add, weasel man?**

Itachi: Nope, nothing that I can think of Djinn. You?

**Other than the fact that I've accumulated over 12k hits now, with 3k from just the addition of the 23****rd**** installment, not a clue Wonder Weasel!**

(Itachi salutes with his weasel tail)

Itachi: Sorry about the long wait folks, the fixes and all that took us a longer time than expected. But we're going to be making up for that wait wth this and the next few chapters, as he have hit…

**The Chunin Exams!**

Itachi: Yes, and you all know what that means! (drum roll) Many, many new and exciting canon twists from both the series and Chaos666's 'Raised in Darkness'! So here it is, the long awaited 24th installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'!

(Itachi curls up in weasel fashion at the feet of Djinn's giant recliner and listens to the new material.)

* * *

"Alright, I'll see you guys at the Hokage Tower in a short minute, I have to go get the leaders of my village and clan before we report in." Before any of the others could stop him, he disappeared in a flash and puff of smoke, a trail of it slightly behind him.

Anko and Asuma looked at the other four genin. "C'mon you lot, let's get over to the Hokage Tower and wait for them to arrive. I want to go get some tasty dango before the shop closes," the snake jonin said as she licked her lips. Anko didn't care that her mouth was dribbling a bit of saliva as she could almost taste her favorite snack.

Asuma shook his head as he pulled out a fresh peanut brittle stick to appease his fixation. "Still can't believe you three won that bet. I'm really regretting having made it after what kind of hell we just went through." He started to walk off as Anko and Ten-Ten looked at each other with puzzled looks.

"What are you talking about, Asuma-sensei?" Ten-Ten asked, her eyebrow quirking up.

"We bet him at the start of our genin exam that he gave us that we could beat him within ten minutes of the end of the exam time limit," Naruto responded, adopting his foxy grin. "The wager was that if we won, he'd have to quit smoking for a year. If we lost, we would have to give up half the pay from our D-ranked missions for a year to pay for his cigarettes!"

"Yeah, it would have been a real drag to lose most of our spending cash just so Asuma-sensei could keep smoking us out," Shikamaru said as he headed after the jonin up ahead.

"Wow, didn't think you'd put up your precious habit just because you thought they'd fail," Anko smirked, sauntering after the lazy duo.

Hinata was in a blushing daze as she remembered the test and their tactics they used, then remembering the glorious time she had cuddling with her foxy boyfriend. 'Mmm, I can't wait for more snuggling.'

Naruto looked up at the trio that were walking away and back at his girlfriend. 'Hmmm…' An evil smile crossed his face as a sinister idea popped into his head. He waved his hand in front of Hinata's face, and was smiling as she made no move to acknowledge his attempt to snap her out of the daze.

He looked around and saw that only Kotetsu was visible, and decided that it didn't matter if the older chunin saw his plan in action. 'Heh, might be worth it anyway.'

He formed the final seal to the Shadow Clone jutsu and one clone emerged from the cloud of smoke. Naruto nodded to his clone and they flew into action. Naruto crouched down in front of Hinata as the clone got behind her and quickly placed her onto the real Naruto's back. It helped get her into position with her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms draped over his shoulders.

The real Naruto stood up fast and gave a kick to the clone, dispelling it before Hinata would wake up. Naruto snickered as he adjusted her weight and grabbed her legs, then started to jog to catch up with the others.

Hinata was brought out of her reverie as she felt that she was being jostled around. She proceeded to find that her arms and legs were wrapped around something firm, and she saw that the scenery of the shops and buildings of the village were zooming past her at a good pace. 'What's going on?'

She then looked in front of her and saw a mop of unruly blonde hair. 'Naruto-kun!'

Naruto could see Asuma and the others as he felt Hinata's embrace of his chest tighten slightly against his shoulders. "Hey there Hina-chan, glad to see you decided to come out of that daydream!" he said to her as she snuggled up to her boyfriend's neck.

"Y-you didn't need to carry me, Naruto-kun," she whispered gently into his ear, kissing it lightly for emphasis.

Naruto blushed as the two of them finally caught up to the others. Hinata tried to get off his back but the blonde energy tank refused to let his cargo off his back.

"Hah, they couldn't even wait 'til after the report turn-in," Anko said as she twirled a kunai around her forefinger.

Asuma and Shikamaru simply ignored the couple's antics as they neared the Hokage Tower, which was already coming up on them. Ten-Ten was giggling as Naruto blushed even more and Hinata buried her face into the crook of his neck while Anko teased them some more.

By the time they arrived, they found a large group of shinobi in black attire standing outside in lines, all wearing the same clothes with different weapons and slight alterations here and there amongst the ranks. They stopped abruptly when they saw exactly how many shinobi were in between them and the entrance.

"Holy fucking shit…" Anko said, her kunai unceremoniously falling to the ground as her jaw hit the dirt.

Naruto almost let go of Hinata's legs as they saw the sheer number. "Whoa, that's a lot of Ankokugakure nin…" he whispered. Hinata dumbly nodded as she gripped his neck more firmly with her arms.

Shikamaru eyed the groups, and his face took on an unexpected smile as he walked up to one of the nin in the last row. He flew through the hand signs for his clan jutsus and his shadow sprang into action. It shot forward and grabbed the shadow of the ninja he was standing a few feet behind.

Before he could manipulate the shadow, the ninja in the dark clothing made its shadow surge back to Shikamaru. He noticed this and released the rat sign his hands were in and jumped back to the rest of the group.

"Nice try there Shika, but you still got a ways to go before you can trap me," the nin said with a smirk, turning her body to face everyone else. Her shiny red hair fell into bangs over the hitai-ite of her village, which was covering her eyes while the rest of her hair was tied up into a high ponytail that had its tip fall below her belt. Her standard genin attire was tight and accentuated her petite frame, while a pair of hammers the size of her head dangled from chains on her hips. The hammers were black metal with cloth handwraps, and each one showed a different word: on the right had the word 'deception' engraved on it as the left bore the word 'depravity' on it.

"It's good to see you still aren't merely cloud gazing, cousin," she said, smiling. She quickly glanced around before she stepped up to Shikamaru and wrapped her arms around him.

All the rest of the Konoha shinobi had their eyes almost pop out of their sockets at the sight. Never had they seen or heard of the lazy Nara doing something like this and never thought they would in their whole lives.

The Darkness-nin let go of Shikamaru and looked at the others. "So cousin, who are these people?" she asked, focusing her hidden gaze on Naruto. Hinata could feel something directed at her boyfriend from the redhead, and was not happy with the feeling she was getting. It felt somewhat… _different_ from what she was used to while in Naruto's presence in public.

"The guy with the stick of candy in his mouth is my sensei, Sarutobi Asuma, the blonde with the raven-haired girl on his back piggy-back are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata, my genin team." He then pointed to Ten-Ten and Anko before continuing. "And those two are Mitarashi Anko and Ten-Ten, the jonin and genin teammate that work with Daisuke."

The girl's eyes would have widened in shock if they weren't covered by her headband. "Daisuke? Are you kidding me, he's here still?" Her voice betrayed her calm demeanor.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at this. "Are you truly that surprised?"

The redhead blushed unnoticeably despite her pale skin. "It's just that I thought he would have returned back to Ankokugakure after you and Choji-san had departed a few months ago. I was just hoping that he would have been able to graduate back home with me…" she said, whispering the last couple of words so that only Shikamaru would be able to hear.

Shikamaru was now caught truly off guard. He may have only known her for two years, but that didn't mean he hadn't learned to interpret most of her behavior from all the time he had spent living with her family. To see that she was actually a Daisuke fangirl, truly shook up the foundation of which he had made his knowledge of the redhead on. 'She's crushing on Daisuke… This is going to be so troublesome…'

Ten-Ten also noticed the change in her attitude after hearing that Daisuke had been placed on a Hidden Leaf genin squad instead of being recalled to Hidden Darkness. 'What is her deal?'

To Anko, it was merely another thing to add to her list of 'things to blackmail Tasty-kun with'. She smirked as she was about to say something, but was cut off when Daisuke suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Ruri? Is that you? What are you doing here?" he asked as he looked at her, standing a foot away from Shikamaru.

"I was just catching up with cousin Shika, since he and the others just got here," the redhead said as her toes wiggled unnoticeably in her boots.

"Can we get an introduction here already?" Naruto asked in a loud voice. Hinata gripped his neck harder, despite the feeling from the girl named Ruri having dropped the strange feeling aimed in her and Naruto's direction. Shikamaru was about to speak up but Daisuke beat him to the punch.

"Sorry about that guys," Daisuke said, scratching the back of his head. "Guys, this is my childhood friend Shiskihura Ruri, who was found to be a distant cousin to Shika just before the whole joint-mission ordeal started over two years ago. Ruri, these three," pointing at Asuma, Naruto, and Hinata, "are the rest of Shika's team. And these two," he then pointed at Anko and Ten-Ten with a worried look nad blush on his face at the same time, "are my jonin instructor Mitarashi Anko and…"

"Ten-Ten, his _girlfriend_," the weapons mistress said, emphasizing the last part as she figured out what was going on. 'Oh Dai-kun, you've got some 'splaining to do…'

Daisuke was scared when he noticed the mood around Ten-Ten drastically change when Ruri moved to place herself behind him to hide from the angry Konoha kunoichi. 'Oh fuck fuck fuck…'

"Hey Daisuke, is that really you?" a new voice came from the ranks of Darkness shinobi. The group all turned to see a boy a few inches taller than Daisuke come up to them, his hitai-ite also covering his eyes like Ruri's. His brown hair was loosely tied back in a ponytail except for the two bangs forming waves around his face. A few scars ran like claw marks down his face from left temple to right cheek, quite visible beneath his headband due to the sheer width of the marks. "Looks like the three blind mice turned into the three blind nin now, eh?"

Daisuke did a double-take at the taller boy. "Kazuma, that can't really be you! Last I saw you, you were barely standing up to my chin!"

The taller boy shrugged his shoulders, causing the sound of clinking metal to emit from under his long trench vest, almost an exact duplicate of what Daisuke wore. His black shirt underneath the coat was simple aside from the clan symbol on the left side of the chest, representing a clawed hand formed into a fist. His cargo pants loosely hung from him as his steel-toed boots shined from fresh polish. A pair of strange weapons were strapped to his wrists, each one sporting two edged pieces of metal that met into a point a few inches out from his knuckles. "Yeah, I just hit a growth spurt a few months after you left. Now I'm the tallest in our age group, almost the tallest out of all the genin in Ankokugakure actually."

The Konoha shinobi watched in awe as the taller boy and the redhead were talking with Daisuke, never seeing the one they'd worked with for the last few months or couple of years talking with such ease and friendliness.

"Now to introduce another one of my childhood frineds," Daisuke said with a smirk. "Guys, this is my other childhood friend, Ishimaru Kazuma. As you can see, he and Ruri are actually blind like me. We three used to terrorize the village before we entered the Academy, and man, did Kommando get pissed at us for some of the stunts we pulled." He then performed the introduction ritual between Kazuma and the Konoha shinobi.

Asuma coughed roughly, finally unable to let this distraction take more time away from the objectives at hand. "Sorry to interrupt Daisuke, but we need to perform that mission report. After that, you and the others can catch up with the others from Ankokugakure."

"Sorry, Asuma-sensei." Daisuke turned back to Ruri and Kazuma, "Sorry guys, but we just got back from a C-ranked mission and we need to report in to the Hokage and Jack, after that I can show you both around, okay?"

Kazuma shook his head as Ruri's face looked down. "Sorry Daisuke, we've got important things to deal with as soon as Yamikage-sama arrives. There are some important things to discuss amongst the combined shinobi forces of both our village and Konohagakure." Kazuma waved his hand over the amassed Darkness shinobi ranks, "Or haven't you noticed that most of our genin teams and a good supply of Insane Devils standing up here?"

Daisuke shook his head. "But I just met with Jack, and what I have to discuss with him is a very important matter concerning the mission we just finished. He's going to be here right about-" Daisuke was interrupted by a very large puff of smoke at the front of the gathering.

"Hello everyone, good to see you are all here," came the voice of the leader of the Village Hiddeen in the Darkness. He and the others that had been in Konoha when the Academy graduation make-up exam happened were standing on a platform in front of the entrance to the Hokage Tower, accompanied by Sarutobi and some ANBU. "We are here to make some information known to you all."

Sarutobi cleared his throat and walked forward to stand up alongside the taller Kage. "We have gathered all of you that stand before us, including those of this village that have just arrived, that there is going to be a very important event occurring here within two weeks. That event is the Chunin Promotion Exams, and many of the genin teams here are going to be partaking this time around, as I'm sure you have been informed."

The genin in the back that were waiting to turn in their reports looked at their jonin instructors. Anko and Asuma simply gave them the patented 'We just got back, so shut the hell up' look. Each of them promply stuck their tongues out and turned their attention back to the front of the group.

Jack spoke now. "Each of the genin teams from Ankokugakure have been cleared for this selection exam, and those of you within the ranks of the Insane Devils shall be performing the duties of guarding the exam locations within and without the village." He looked back and Carlos moved forward, his face conveying the seriousness of the matter.

"Insane Devils, you are also going to be performing routine patrols throughout the village for the next two months, from the start of the exams to the finals." He looked across the ranks, none of which made any response. "As such, you will adhere to the rules of foreign interactions. Under no circumstances other than yours or the life of another in your presence are about to be taken are you to draw your weapons or activate your kekkei genkai. For those of you genin, you also are to obey these rules, but you may use your weapons and bloodline limits during the exam if not informed otherwise. Also, you will be subjected to the orders of Hokage-sama himself outside of the Ankokugakure chain of command. Anyone else other than the Yamikage, myself, Amanda Sickle, or the Hokage, and you are to ignore them unless it's an emergency." He looked around once again, then finished. "Is that clear, my comrades?"

"YES CAPTAIN LOKI!" chorused throughout the ranks, even from Daisuke and his two Darkness comrades in back. Ten-Ten was shocked to see her boyfriend act in such a way. 'Never thought I would see him act so much like a true warrior,' she thought to herself, blushing furiously as other thoughts came into her mind.

"Now, you may all go about your business as you will in the village. Just remember to be polite and respectful to the villagers as if we were back home. Treat others as you wish to be treated," Jack said, and gave the signal that the meeting was over.

Immediately, a very large portion of the gathered Darkness shinobi went in all directions, minus those on the platform and the three at the rear of the gathering. Sarutobi noticed the group at the back first and motioned for them to come up to his office. Jack turned back to his three subordinates and nodded to them, each of them taking their leave.

"You guys can come up with us, you'll just need to sit outside the office while we give our report," Daisuke said as he waved them to catch up with the group as they headed inside.

Kazuma held out his arm to Ruri. "Coming Ruri-chan?" he asked to his comrade in Darkness. Hesitantly, she nodded and slowly put her arm into his, blushing deeper than when Daisuke had arrived.

'Maybe.. it's time to… to move on from Daisuke finally,' the redhead thought to herself, remembering the looks and emotions coming from the one named Ten-Ten during the introductions. 'I mean, if he's finally gotten a girlfriend, what hope do I have?'

Kazuma was feeling the doubt and sadness his teammate was feeling as they made their way into the Hokage Tower after the Leaf shinobi ahead of them. 'Man, Ruri's taking this real hard. Can't blame her though; I'd be the same if my crush had just shown back up, and with someone latching onto them no less, after having been gone for two years…' His thoughts wandered to all the time he and Ruri had spent, and how close they'd become while in the last two years of the Academy back home.

"Hey guys, I'll be out after a while, there's some important issues we have to discuss with Jack. So just make yourselves comfortable, okay?" Daisuke said, placing a friendly hand on Ruri's upper arm.

A small shade of pink softly graced Ruri's cheeks as Kazuma nodded with a smile. "Will do man, we'll be here for after you're done with the important stuff," the taller boy said.

Ruri nodded with Kazuma's comment. "And then you can show us all around, and we can catch up on the last two years," she added in a soft tone, hoping that Ten-Ten wouldn't hear.

"No worries, you can both crash at my place for the time we're all here." And before anyone else could say anything, Daisuke followed after Anko into the Hokage's office with everyone else from the mission.

"C'mon Ruri, let's have a seat while they talk."

Ruri nodded her head, thanking the powers that be she was hiding her blearing eyes behind her headband.


	25. Twisting of the Fate Threads

(Itachi ruffles the fur on his weasel costume, papers in front of him on the floor

(Itachi ruffles the fur on his weasel costume, papers in front of him on the floor.)

Itachi: Alrighty folks, we decided that we would get cranking here on the next chapter of BtDoF before we got the first review, seeing as we had a bunch of material to go on already from last chapter.

**Doesn't help that I got lazy and decided to leave 24 on a cliffhanger at the group getting into Sarutobi's office.**

(Itachi shrugs his shoulders.)

Itachi: Just means that we get to go extra long with 25, right boss?

**That it does, my weasel friend. Anything else to add before we start?**

(Itachi scratches his head and glances at the papers.)

Itachi: Nothing except that we'll be responding to the reviews for 24 at the end of this chapter if we feel we need to. If not, then we don't have anything else but glorious content for this chapter.

**Good. Now get along with reading the new installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', my faithful readers, and enjoy!**

(Itachi tosses the papers into the fire and relaxes on the floor.)

* * *

The door closed with a soft _thud_ as Daisuke took his position behind and to Anko's right before the Hokage and Yamikage. Ten-Ten stood to his left behind Anko, and Asuma stood with his students slightly in front of him, so that everyone was unobstructed from seeing the other people in the large office.

"Good to see all of you are back and unharmed physically. It seems that my decision to assign Team thirteen from the beginning was a good idea," Sarutobi said as he puffed his pipe. "Now, give me your reports on the events that occurred after the incident with the Demon Brothers, from each of your own points of view."

Anko stepped forward. "Lord Hokage, we first have something to discuss with you. Or rather-"

"Naruto and me have some things to discuss with you and Jack." Daisuke stepped in front of his sensei and removed his glasses to show closed eyes. "It's very important and it must be discussed before we give our official report concerning the escort to Wave."

Naruto gently let go of Hinata's legs, having forgotten that he was still carrying her on his back. He blushed a little as she stepped back, allowing for the blonde to step up beside Daisuke.

"Oh? What is it you two?" Sarutobi asked, his eyebrow raised as he lifted the pipe from his mouth.

"Yes, what is so important that it takes precedence over a mission report?" Jack asked, his face scrunched in confusion.

Both Kages were surprised by the sight they saw when Daisuke opened his eyes to them. "It's about our _tenants_, lord Kages," Daisuke firmly said, his eyes glowing slightly.

Naruto removed his supply bag and hitai-ite strap as Daisuke removed his gloves. The brunette rolled up his sleeves as the blonde pulled his shirt over his head, and both then started to channel their chakras.

'Hope you're awake, Kyuubi-nee-chan, cus we've got that meeting now,' Naruto thought into his mindscape, still a dank sewer due to lack of time to change it.

"**Mmm, I'm awake Kit, no worries,"** came the sleepy voice of the demon in his body. **"I think it will be best if I actually appear for this meeting, to make things easier to understand."**

Naruto mentally bugged out. 'You can't come out though, it'll kill both of us if you try!'

"**Don't worry Kit, just perform these hand signs," **she said as she slowly showed him a set of hand signs. **"And announce the name 'Apparition of the Caged' on the final hand sign. Everything will be smooth sailing from there."**

'Alright, just hope it doesn't freak everyone out too bad.' Naruto took a moment in his mind to practice the signs before he nodded to himself and returned to the regular world.

Daisuke was standing within the realm of his mindscape, seeing it as what he remembered of Ankokugakure before he left. He looked down at his arms and found that the seals were slightly glowing, and lifted his arms out to either side of him. His left hand glowed darker as the glow from his right hand faded, indicating that his desired direction.

Daisuke walked in the direction that his left hand guided him, until he came upon the complex that he and Kommando lived in, and found his goal. Standing in the open double doorway was a woman with long white hair dressed in a black kimono. The obi was a a simple white, as white wisps accentuated her kimono to illustrate a blowing wind through the white silhouettes of trees around the bottom hem. Her hair was pulled back into a loose wrap behind her back. Two tails, one black and one white, swished back and forth behind her legs as she smiled at Daisuke, wide enough for fangs to peek through her lips.

'Nibi-kaa-san…' he thought, stepping closer. It may have been the first time he'd met her aside from the few mental conversations lately, but he could feel that it was the two-tailed feline demon through the aura she was emitting.

"Hello there Daisuke, I've been waiting a long time for you to come see me finally." Her voice was soft as silk as she stepped up to him and smiled further, her black-tipped white ears twitching in the spots where normal human ears would have been. Her eyes then opened to him and he saw that she bore the same style eyes as his, but her were black on the left with a white pentagram as the right was white with a black pentagram in it. "But right now, we must focus on the task at hand. In order to perform this task as accurately as possible, you will need to perform this jutsu."

Daisuke watched her go through a series of hand signs a few times. "This is called the '**Spritual Embodiment**' jutsu, which will allow me to temporarily create an ethereal projection of myself before those humans outside of this mindscape."

Daisuke nodded and went through the hand signs himself a couple times, making sure he had it down. After that, he glanced up at the demon before him before he moved forward and calmly wrapped his arms around her waist, his head laying to the side on her shoulder. "I'll make sure to come visit, kaa-san, after today is finished and everyone is asleep. There is so much we should discuss."

Nibi smiled sweetly at him as her arms and tails wrapped around him. "Do not worry, Kitten. We will talk in time, so do not be in such a rush. But you must go now, the others are getting impatient."

Daisuke released her as he started to fade back into reality, her visage still fresh in his mind.

Both Naruto and Daisuke opened their eyes after returning from their respective mindscapes, seeing the two Great Shadows before them with mouths gaping.

Sarutobi gathered himself quickly, placing his pipe in his mouth. "So, I see that you found out about your 'tenant' Naruto. I'm sorry that I never told you, but it was for your own safety."

Naruto grinned widely at the old man. "No worries, Old Man. I understand."

Jack looked at Daisuke dumbfounded. "If Naruto is the jinchuuriki for Kyuubi no Kitsune, who are you the container for?" he asked, eyebrow raised up in curiousity.

"Instead of telling you, I can just show you an everyone else here." He smirked as he flew the hand signs that Nibi had shown him, ending with a hand sign that had his thumbs side by side pointed out from him, the middle and ring fingers intertwining like normal as the fore and little fingers met directly at the tips. "Spiritual Embodiment Jutsu!" he called out, pushing the chakra through his arms and into the hand sign.

Everyone was looking in awe as the concentrated chakra flowed from his hands and landed on the floor between him and the large desk, rising into the form of a slender woman. When the chakra's glow faded, there stood Nibi no Nekomata, just as Dasisuke had seen her.

"Yamikage-sama, Hokage-sama, friends and instructor to Kitten-kun, it is a pleasure to finally meet you all," Nibi said, bowing formally to the two men on the other side of the desk.

Sarutobi and Jack quickly recovered themselves while the rest of the group were awestruck by the vision of a woman in front of them. Sarutobi tapped the dead tobacco out of his pipe into the garbage can under his desk as he started. "And would you please be so kind as to enlighten us as to your identity?" Jack nodded slowly as he never let his eyes wander from her face.

Nibi straightened up and smiled. "Of course, where are my manners? I am Nibi no Nekomata, the two-tailed feline demoness. I have been residing within Kitten-kun for almost his entire life, until an event during his last mission caused me to awaken from my exhausted slumber."

Jack couldn't help as his eyes widened in shock. "But if you're the Nibi, then what did they try to seal into that little girl over ten years ago in Kumo?"

Nibi looked at him with a curious look on her face. "That may have been one of my daughters, no doubt. I was fleeing from a group of humans that were attempting to capture me over twelve years ago when I came across Daisuke and his mother, and the two refugees that had brought him to Ankokugakure. It is very likely that the people of Kumo thought that my daughter was me and attempted to seal her without the proper caster and seals."

"So it takes a specific seal for each demon for them to be successfully sealed away?" Sarutobi asked, his pipe hanging gently out of his mouth. Asuma cursed his father for displaying his freedom so frivolously in front of them.

"Demons can be sealed away into humans, but each family of demon has specific seals that need to be used for it to work correctly. If the seal done by Kumo was a failed attempt, then it is most likely they had a second-rate seal-crafter perform the ceremony or didn't present the correct sacrifices." Her face slightly darkened, noting that something else may have gone wrong.

"Okay, my turn!" Naruto yelled, trying to break the mood from it's current path to depression. He flew through his hand signs, and ended the series with the dog sign. "Apparition of the Caged Jutsu!"

Blue fire sprang from his hands as it grew to the form of a woman just as tall as Nibi. As the flames dissipated, there came a woman with a black kimono with red obi, nine red fox tails swaying behind her, her fox ears twitching, and the slits in her eyes focusing to restrict a portion of the light in the room from interfering with her vision.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances Sarutobi-sama, Socrie-sama, all those years ago. But the situation that led to my attack of Konohagakure will wait for another time, as these projection jutsus will only last for a little while," Kyuubi said, her hair moving behind her shoulders on its own.

The Hokage simply squeezed the bridge of his nose, sensing the headache already starting to manifest itself in the back of his head. 'This just keeps getting better and better…' "Alright, then let's get this over with."

'Oh it's just fine, nothing to worry about. We're also sorry we had to have our young fresh Hokage seal you into his own son and kill himself at the same time, but hey, it's all good!' Kyuubi thought to herself, preventing herself from making a scene of disgruntled emotions.

The other three genin in the room were on the verge of freaking out at this time, having seen not one but two demons materialize in front of them. Even Asuma and Anko were unable to hide their reactions to the display, despite knowing full well what to expect to some degree.

Nibi stepped up to be side by side with Kyuubi, their images not faltering with te filtered light from the windows fading slowly as the afternoon grew darker.

"As you know, the two genin teams you sent to escort and bodyguard Tazuna the bridge builder from Wave were almost ambushed by the Demon Brothers not more than a few hours after leaving the village. What they have not informed you of yet is," Nibi looked at Kyuubi, and Kyuubi took the signal. "That not long after landing in Wave, they were set upon by another nin. He was from Kirigakure, and his name was Momochi Zabuza."

Jack looked back at Daisuke before looking at Anko. "Is this true Daisuke? Did you encounter the Demon of the Mist?"

Daisuke nodded his head, but did not speak. He knew that there would be time later for any other questions to be answered, as he knew they would eventually be asked in the first place.

"When the fight with Zabuza had gotten to a near end, there was an interruption from an oinin whom later turned out to a girl not much older than these kits disguising herself as a Kiri hunter to assist Zabuza when things would get complicated." Kyuubi again started speaking, her hands folded in front of her as Nibi had hers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeves. "The kits and their instructors realized something was going on behind the scenes as the imposter did not try and dispose of Zabuza's body immediately after embedding several senbon into his neck and shoulders, which turned into a major flaw in their plan."

Sarutobi looked back at his son and the snake-user. "Did this accomplice really make such a mistake?" he asked, chewing ever so slightly on the mouth piece to his pipe. Anko nodded as Asuma fiddled with the candy stick in his mouth.

"When the group reached the house of Tazuna, they began to make plans directly after their arrival, not wasting time. They spent the next four days working on the tree-climbin exercise, in wich time Naruto suffered a concussion from using too much, causing him to launch off his tree and land headfirst into the ground," Nibi said, her hands placing themselves slightly behind herself.

Kyuubi pulled the blonde forward and put him in front of her, her hands resting on his shoulders. "It was immediately after his impact on the ground that Kit found himself in his mindscape, and thus we made our first real contact, face-to-face."

Naruto nodded his head in affirmation without even letting either of the Kages ask the given question.

"Then something terrible happened the sixth day they were in Wave," Nibi spoke, her voice getting cold after remembering what she had seen in her kitten's mind. It shook her mind as even demons have their standards. "The young girl that had been assisting Zabuza apparently thought it would be beneficial to Zabuza's job if she took out Tazuna's grandson Inari, in hopes to lower the morale of the genin."

Kyuubi placed a soothing hand on Nibi's shoulder, easing the surge of emotions the cat demon was emitting. She faced the leaders again as she picked up the story. "Then, the day after that the genin took some time off after the funeral for the young child had concluded in hopes to clear their minds. Kit and his mate were in the upstairs of the house as Shikamaru was gazing at the clouds, Asuma was checking the bridge site for possible trouble, and Anko had taken her two students to calm down. During this time, a strong genjutsu had been placed on two kits in their private room as that fake hunter entered the house, and froze Tazuna into a lump of ice." She placed her other hand on Naruto's hand and ruffled his hair, continuing the report. "Thankfully the genjutsu and prison jutsu were both fairly short-term, as Asuma was the first to return and found that the house's first floor was in shambles."

Nibi took control of her feelings again as she looked the two men straight in the eyes. "Apparently, the enemy thought that just killing one of Tazuna's family would not be sufficient, so she came by while everyone was preoccupied and subdued Tazuna as well as the two kittens in their room, while proceeding to capture Tsunami, Tazuna's only living relative at this point. There was a very large struggle, as noticeable from the fact that hardly ny of the furniture was intact by the time the genin and their senseis were gathered again in the living room."

Daisuke stepped forward and in front of Nibi, looking at both Jack and Sarutobi. "Ten-Ten soon found a kunai embedded in the ceiling with a note from Zabuza and this girl. It told us that we were to come and make a final confrontation with them within the hour at the bridge site if Tsunami was to live to see her father again."

AT this point Anko and Asuma both were fed up with being cut out of the report and stepped forward, each making their presence known before the desk. Anko crossed her arms over her chest as she noticed Nibi gently pull Daisuke closer to her, as Kyuubi placed her hands back onto Naruto's shoulders when Asuma edged in.

Asuma coughed, grabbing everyone's attention. "We immediately formed a plan with Shikamaru's tactics and headed for the location of the bridge, fully prepared to engage in a fight to the death for Tazuna's daughter. Naruto, as a side-thought, created a clone during along the way and sent it in as him while he stayed back in the tree line to observe the fight before entering the fight for real."

Anko took her turn, taking a sidelong look at her male genin. "After we broke the cover of the trees, we soon found that we had no choice but to embark onto the bridge itself. From there, we were ambushed by a water clone of Zabuza. That first clone was merely a ploy to give him a chance to utilize the moisture the clone left behind to create his trademark Hidden Mist Jutsu. When that thick fog rolled over the bridge, our plan went into action. Shikamaru provided mid-range backup to Asuma and Daisuke as both of them went in for close-quarters combat with Zabuza, while Naruto and I went into combat with the imposter. Ten-Ten and Hinata were waiting for either of of the boys to get injured and take over for them or for Naruto to give the signal and they rescue and retreat with Tsunami."

Asuma took on the next part as Anko eased back. "While they took on the girl that was later found to be named Haku, Daisuke and I entered a difficult fight with Zabuza. Zabuza used the cover of the mist to his advantage with his first move, coming from under the bridge and almost taking Daisuke out with one swing. I was able to shove him out of the way, and Shikamaru was thankfully able to avoid the reversed attack at him. Zabuza proceeded to give us a brief glimpse into his history."

Shikamaru nodded lazily as he moved to the side of the room and leaned against the wall. "After he told us the old graduation exam for Kiri, we were almost executed by some more of his water clones he made under the cover of the mist before he came out of hiding."

"While they were dealing with mummy-face, Anko-sensei and me were having a hard time dealing with Haku, especially since she pulled out all the stops and started off activating her kekkei genkai, which was to combine air and water chakra to create mirrors out of ice!" Naruto said, his right fist coming up in front of him for emphasis. "Aside from using these mirrors of hers to form a dome trap around us, she could also use the dome to travel much faster than normally possible. She flew from mirror to mirro and threw a ton of senbon needles at us. We were barely able to keep most of them from landing, but we soon found that the ones that did hit us were really slowing us down."

"During the fight with Haku, the shadow clone that Naruto had sent in with me was dispelled when the girl came out of her mirrors and slammed some senbon needles into the clone's neck with a jab. From there, the real Naruto emerged from behind us and gave the signal to Hinata and me," Ten-Ten said as she nudged Hinata forward, to allow Jack and Sarutobi to see both of them beside Anko. "At this point when we heard Naruto give the signal, we moved forward and stopped at where we thought the hostage was still hanging. She had been barely noticeable when we arrived just as Zabuza used the Hidden Mist jutsu."

Hinata pushed her fingers together as she gave her input into the mission report. "W-when we emerged between the t-two fights, Ten-Ten threw a k-kunai up at the rope, but a m-mirror of ice deflected it back." Her gaze shifted to the surface of the desk as she thought back onto the fight. "After that, the girl Haku landed several more senbon, all of them landing into Ten-Ten and Hina-chan…"

Kyuubi hugged Naruto briefly before she continued. "It was at this point when the Kit was focusing his anger so finely that it brought forth my power form within the seal."

Nibi glanced at Kyuubi before she focused her eyes back otno Jack and Sarutobi. "When Naruto called forth the power of Kyuubi, that was the point in which Zabuza was about to have his clones land killing blows on Kitten and the others. But the sudden outburst of chakra froze him in mid-swing, giving me enough time to help Kitten retaliate against he enemy."

Anko glumly looked at herself as she spoke next. "I finally succumbed to the effects of the senbon needles obstructing my chakra and blood flows. I don't know for myself what happened next with the enemies." The Hokage could tell that the special jonin was disturbed by the fact that she had been unable to perform more in the fight against the nukenin and his accomplice.

"Hinata and I were also unable to keep up with the fight, having been rendered indisposed just like Anko-sensei had been," Ten-Ten said, fidgeting with a kunai. Hinata nodded in agreement, seeing nothing else to add from her point of view at this point in time.

'As for me and Asuma-sensei, we fell into unconsciousness from the killer intent that Naruto and Diasuke were giving off. Strange thing was the chakra flows you tow were giving off though," the lazy Nar said, not bothering to look at anyone.

"What you were sensing before you two were overwhelmed was the pressure in the air changing as Kyuubi and myself were coming into our own within our containers," Nibi said as she looked back at Shikamaru. "When we provide our chakra or take over their bodies, the air pressure is changed drastically due to the massive amount of chakra being released all at once."

Jack stepped up against his side of the desk, placing a hand on it. "So what happened, after everyone else was unconscious from either energy flow obstructions or the effects of killer intent?" His voice gave them the notion that he was growing short on patience, despite the circumstances.

"Well, Naruto first was enveloped in my chakra, forming a cloak around him. His fingers developed into claws, his canines developed a slight fang-semblance to them. After he shattered the dome with a few well-placed strikes on Haku's Crystal Ice Mirror jutsu, a tail actually developed from his focused anger." Kyuubi gripped Naruto's shoulders harder for a moment.

Nibi started to run her hands through Daisuke's hair slightly, easing the stress from him as she finished up her separate report before the final leg of it. "As Naruto and Kyuubi were playing around with Haku, I took over Kitten-kun's body while batting Zabuza around. He charged at us with his massive sword, called a zanbato, but found himself stopped by my tails. I sent him flying with a simple shove of the sword, and he landed face down on the bridge, atop his accomplice. Apparently Naruto had finished destroying the dome of ice by this time and had driven his sharpened hands through the girl's chest and punctured both her lungs severely."

Kyuubi nodded, massaging the tension out of Naruto's shoulders.

"When he finally was able to look at us, he was shocked when he saw that I had shredded his precious sword to pieces with ease. I tossed the useless handle over the dge as I moved us to stand beside Naruto, and we were about to finish off Zabuza and Haku when the real reason for everything going wrong showed up on the scene."

Kyuubi's eyes flashed deep eerie red for a moment before she took over the report. "He showed up with almost a hundred men with swords, none of them truly skilled enough to actually be called swordsman. Nibi moved Daisuke to contain the first group with small tempers that rushed us while I had Naruto leap over them and decimate most of the other sixty men. Gato at some point slipped past us, and was about to slam a knife to Zabuza's forehead, but the famous swordsman kicked Gato away and got back onto his feet."

"I tossed him a kunai, after he informed us that with Gato reneging on the contract that he no longer had a reason to fight us or kill Tazuna. He caught it in mid rotation and followed through the move, using the momentum of the spin to almost completely tear out Gato's throat." Nibi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steadying her nerves. "After Gato's body fell to the concrete dead, Kyuubi eliminated all of the other goons minus two of them, whom I used to resurrect Haku with a demonic revival jutsu. I had to sacrifice the lives of the last two men from Gato's group in order to preserve hers, but it was the right thing to do."

"And that is pretty much the whole report, Hokage-sama," Asuma said, gaining the collective attention of the group again through a stern cough. "After that, everyone had been roused and we recovered enough so as to get back to Tazuna's with Tsunami still out like a light. Thankfully, the bridge builder himself was already unfrozen by the time we got back."

Anko smirked as she stared at the sharp edge of a kunai. "We would have been back sooner, but Naruto-baka and Tasty-kun decided to help complete the bridge instead of just using a ferry to return."

Naruto fumed out the ears. "Hey, it was the least we could do!" he yelled, his eyes shut in frustration as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Hinata giggled slightly as she latched onto his arm when she saw that the atmosphere in the room was lightening up. Ten-Ten grabbed Daisuke's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Okay then, are there any other matters to discuss? Otherwise we will need to just give you some recent developments that occurred while you were all away, then you can be on your way." The Hokage was not surprised when no one even moved a muscle to add another word, all anxious to get home and rest or whatnot. "Alright, then I'll make this fast so you can all go and relax."

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair as he loaded his pipe with fresh tobacco, lighting with a match from his pocket. "As you may remember, Genma made the choice to fail both Yamanaka Ino and Uchiha Sasuke back after the Academy genin exams. Everything was going fine with the two of them returning for the time being to the studies under Iruka."

Jack leaned forward and placed his hands on the portion of desk in front of him, looking everyone in the eyes. "But it was discovered not even a full day after you all went to Wave that Sasuke went missing."

A collective gasp went through the group of tired shinobi. Never had they thought Sasuke would actually leave Konoha, despite the frustration he admitted at having because of being held back from continuing his shinobi career. "Where'd Sasuke-teme go?" Naruto asked, scratched the back of his head.

Jack eased up and shook his head. "As of right now, we are only certain that he no longer is within the borders of Fire Country. We only found out he had left when he had missed three days of his reeducation, and that was from the lack of almost all the clan heirlooms that were supposed to reside within the Uchiha complex when we searched it for him."

"Is anything going to be done? We can't just let him go without a fight! What if he was kidnapped?" Daisuke said, his eyes closed in shock.

Sarutobi shook his head solemnly. "Unfortunately, we have nothing to go on, the trail is too cold to follow at this point. All we can do is hope that Sasuke will be safe until he comes back."

The group was silent for a moment as the information sank in. None of them could believe that their fellow Konoha shinobi would willingly leave the village. It just didn't seem possible to them that Sasuke would just give up on his dream to avenge his clan and bring it back to its rightful place at the top in Hidde Leaf.

Asuma stretched his arms out, and looked at the two men opposite the desk from his and Anko's students, and the demon duo. "So is there anything else to report, Hokage-sama? Otherwise, we need to be going."

Sarutobi sighed, regretting the decision that had been made and what he was about to tell the group. "There is one last matter that needs to be discussed." The snow-graced old man looked at Jack, and received a curt nod in return. He saw that it had to be done, and that it was be better to have it happen now rather than later.

"I am sorry to inform you all of this, but the Council has demanded that the two genin from Ankokugakure be removed from our squads, and put into squds of their own with other Darkness-genin, effective immediately."


	26. Groups, Meetings, & Encounters

(Itachi comes into view, weasel costume spiffy as ever)

Itachi: Hello everyone, and welcome to the 26th chapter of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'.

Today, we bring you into the turmoil that has just been hinted at from the end of chapter 25, with Sarutobi having informed the returning genin of the Council's orders to reorganize the teams and have Raven and Daisuke be placed with genin from their own village.

**This is gonna be fun!**

Itachi: Oh yes it will be. (Smiles so wide that almost his entire face is just teeth) Since we have no reviews to answer, we're just going to jump right into the story.

**Oh, before we forget Itachi!**

Itachi: Yes Djinn? What did you remember?

**I am currently in the running for taking over the story 'Selfish' from Bullwinkle's Lady. If any of you loyal readers think I should be the winner of her little contest, then visit her story and find out how to get to the thread where all of us vying for the story are currently fighting.**

Itachi: Ah, that's right. But remember folks, Djinn only concentrates one story at a time, to ensure quality. So if he is the champion, then don't expect to see anything on the prize until after BtDoF is completely finished. And who knows how long that will be, because we sure don't!

**And without any further adeu, here is chapter 26 of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'!**

* * *

Sarutobi sighed, regretting the decision that had been made and what he was about to tell the group. "There is one last matter that needs to be discussed." The snow-graced old man looked at Jack, and received a curt nod in return. He saw that it had to be done, and that it was be better to have it happen now rather than later.

"I am sorry to inform you all of this, but the Council has demanded that the two genin from Ankokugakure be removed from our squads, and put into squads of their own with other Darkness-genin, effective immediately."

The room was silent as the order sank into everyone's mind. A minute later, a very large amount of killer intent was coming from everyone on the front side of the desk, minus Nib and Kyuubi. Both emons gently latched onto their jinchuuriki and tried to ease them out of the anger.

"What the FUCK are they doing that for, Hokage-sama?" Daisuke growled, his teeth visibly clenched in frustration. His hands were outside of his pockets, thankfully signaling that he was not about to resort to using his tonfa, even if he wanted so much for that to happen.

Jack stepped around the desk and placed a hand calmly on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry Daisuke, but the Council has found that it is 'unnecessary' for the genin to intermingle in such a manner. They will tolerate our presence within Konoha, but they will not tolerate' Darkness shinobi profiting from themissions meant for Konoha shinobi'. All we can do is simply abide by this and drop it."

Daisuke eased up on his killer intent, but none of the others seemed to let theirs diminish. Ten-Ten was absolutely furious despite the fact that she would be returning to Gai-sensei and her original teammates.

"Then what will happen to the genin squads that were formed this year? You surely have to reorganize them," Anko said, her arms folded across her chest as she held a kunai in each hand. Her temper was starting to rise, seeing that her last two months may very well have been wasted all for nothing.

Sarutobi sighed and placed his hands on the table before him. "Indeed, the teams have been mixed around again due to the interference of the Council. I am unsure of how Jack and his subordinates will be dealing with their genin, but as for those of this village, these are the changes that are going to be made." He pulled out a paper from his pocket and unfolded it, reading it carefully before he began again. "Along with Gai having his team and title returned to him to reform team nine, Akimichi Choji will still be under the instruction of Genma as he has opted out of attempting the exam this year; Aburame Shino will be joining Kurenai's squad to replace Hyuuga Neji, as Rock Lee will be with Gai once more and Raven Straussburg is being placed within the ranks of her fellow Ankoku genin."

'Well, at least our team isn't going to be broken up from all this havoc…' Shikamaru though, dropping his killer intent.

'Man, this sucks! I can't believe those old temes are doing this to us!' Naruto thought roughly, mentally vowing to get revenge on the people on the Council for this. Hinata simply sighed in frustration, thankful that her squad had not been tampered with and she was at least still with her Naruto-kun.

Asuma closed his eyes an sat in a chair off to the side, rubbing his temples gently. Anko was doing a decent job at holding her anger, but that was only due to the years of practice at putting up with all the problems the villagers and idiot shinobi would give her for the past she had.

Daisuke rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking at the floor. "If this is what is to happen, then who will I be on a team with? And what about Raven for that matter?"

Jack smiled lightly at the question, having thankfully already anticipated such a thing and set a few teams one member too few when Ankokugakure had its graduation on time. "Raven will be placed with Ben Roshika and Nicole Mantier, I'm sure you remember her friends from your younger days. As for your team Daisuke, you already met up with them." Before Daisuke had a chance to respond, Jack walked to the door of the Hokage's office and opened it, signaling the people out of the hall into the room.

Daisuke didn't look at the door until he heard the two sets of steps enter and the door closed. When he turned around, he was quite confused.

"Daisuke Hyota, you will be the third member to the 'Three Blind Nin' unit, alongside your friends Ruri Shiskimura and Kazuma Ishimaru," the Yamikage said, ushering the two other genin forward. Both of them were stoic in their posture before the group, noting that this was a formal meeting. Their headbands still placed over their eyes and their hair straightened out, their clothes seeming to have almost been cleaned and pressed during the first part of the meeting.

"I told you the 'Three Blind Mice' became the 'Three Blind Nin', Daisuke," Kazuma said, lightly smirking as he removed his weapons and placed them in his coat.

Ruri showed no signs of emotion outwardly, but she was jumping for joy at the turn of events that had shown themselves.

Ten-Ten was again fuming at hearing that her boyfriend would be on the same team as the redhead that had shown quite an interest in his situation when she first met the younger redhead.

Daisuke stepped forward and stopped not far from his friends. He took a moment before he turned and signaled for Nibi to come forward. "Well, since you guys are going to be my team from now on, it's only fair that you know the situation I'm in."

Nibi stepped forward and held her hands out to the other Darkness genin, each one gently taking the outstretched hands in a gentle grasp. "I am the Nibi no Nekomata, and you will ind it hard to believe this, but Kitten-kun is my container."

The face behind the hitai-ites showed no change despite the news they just got. Most of the people in the room gave them a wary eye as they finally spoke.

"That doesn't surprise me; Daisuke always seemed different from the rest of the villagers," Kazuma said, letting go of the demon's hand he had been holding. "Now I know I was right in choosing to be his friend. Jinchuuriki normally don't grow up with many, if any, friends."

Ruri nodded her head in agreement, taking her turn to speak. "I never had a doubt that you weren't normal Daisuke, but it never made a difference to me what you were like; You always treated me and Kazuma like we were siblings growing up since we first met in the Academy." Her voice gave away the joy she was trying so hard to fight from emerging. Her efforts went unnoticed by most except for Nibi and Ten-Ten, both being acutely aware at this point about her feelings for Daisuke, but their mutual attention was cut short there.

'Gah! Now I see what Amanda and Kommando were talking about when they mentioned Daisuke had a fangirl club!' she angrily thought, not noticing how her hands were inching closer and closer to pull off the bandages from her arms. Anko immediately noticed this discrete movement and quickly grasped Ten-Ten's wrist.

"Do **not** even think of doing that, imouto…" she gently hissed into her former student's ear. Ten-Ten froze, and dumbly nodded in recognition. Anko smiled evilly as she let go of the young kunoichi's wrist and resumed her posture to watch the event unfold in front of them.

Nibi however was using her connection with Daisuke's mind and glimpsing through his childhood memories for information and his feelings for her. 'Hmm, this will be interesting…' she thought to herself, her tails swishing with anticipation.

A thought struck Kazuma as he noticed something. "Hey dude, can you tell us why you and Nibi have almost the same exact eyes, just different colors?" He had obviously picked up on the pentagrams that Nibi and Daisuke had around their pupils, and the fact that Daisuke had forgotten to put his sunglasses in place before they entered.

Ruri broke into a huge blush as she finally noticed that Daisuke had his eyes uncovered, never once having seen his eyes while they were growing up. Everyone in the room noticed her lapse in control, and several jaws hit the floor at once, from everyone but Kazuma, Nibi, and Ten-Ten.

Sarutobi decided to break the silence and end the meeting before anything else awkward came up. "Okay, since everything has been discussed, the Yamikage and I have some very important matters to discuss before things progress much longer."

Everyone gathered their minds and noted that indeed things were getting late.

"And about the Chunin Promotion Exams, I will need you to stay behind for a moment Asuma. Your students may go on their way though," Sarutobi said as he closed his eyes. Asuma nodded to his students, and they departed with the rest of the group as they exited the Hokage's office. Nibi and Kyuubi bowed to the three still in the office before they followed through the walls to catch up with their containers.

When the projections of the demons caught up to the group, they said their goodbyes to the genin and Anko as Naruto and Daisuke each dispelled their projection jutsus. After a moment, each one seemed to be a little less energetic, but everyone just saw this as a consequence of having to maintain such a jutsu for a long period of time.

Anko turned to her former students as they saw the afternoon sky turning dark orange with the sun dipping below the tree line. "Alright you two. I'm sorry about all this, but hey, can't argue with the orders of the Council. Otherwise I'd still be your jonin."

Daisuke and Ten-Ten nodded, Daisuke keeping an indifferent look on his face as Ten-Ten's lower lip started to quiver.

"I'm gonna miss being with you, aneue," the young bun-styled girl said. She wiped her nose with her arm as she stiffened herself. "I may be glad to going back to my old team, but I rather enjoyed learning from you for the last two months."

Anko smirked as she put a hand on Ten-Ten's shoulder. "Don't worry, you can come and get bonus training from me when that spandex-freak isn't drilling Lee into the ground and I'm already doing something."

Anko stuck her other hand out to Daisuke, who took it and gave it a firm grip. "I'm gonna miss teaching you too, otouto. I'll try and get some scrolls to you with some tricks you may like, but I have to avoid the 'opposition' from finding out I'm still giving you advice. I can deal with shit from the villagers and other shinobi, but the people that sign my paycheck is another thing."

"I wish we could have learned more from you Anko-sensei, but apparently those in charge are willing to let their old traditions get in the way of village alliances," he said, giving her hand one more shake before he let go.

The jonin stepped back and gave them each a smirk. Then, with a flick of her wrists, she produced a kunai in each hand, offering one to each of the only students she ever had. "Take these you two. They were among my first set I got after I became a genin. Keep them close to you, and never forget what I've been able to teach you." Both of them nodded, placing the sentimental weapons into empty pockets.

She turned and started off to her favorite dango shop, but stopped and turned her head back. "Oh guys, one last thing before we part ways as a team."

Daisuke and Ten-Ten both looked up at her, eyes sparked with questions.

"About that one technique I taught you while we waited for the ANBU to get the Demon Brothers?" Each genin nodded, "Go ahead and use it whenever you like, I'll deal with anyone that dares try to say anything about my teaching methods, okay?"

Daisuke grinned widely as he gave her a thumbs up, as Ten-Ten nodded her head with enthusiasm. Before anyone could say anything else, Anko jumped onto the nearest roof and made her way out of sight.

"Hey, who wants to go out for Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked, trying to break the mood. He and Hinata had felt out of place as Shikamaru had slipped away from the group and headed home.

Hinata nodded her head as she glomped Naruto from behind. "I'll gladly go with you, Naruto-kun."

Ten-Ten shook her head as she spoke, looking at the rest of the group. "Sorry, but I've gotta go and get ready to start the inane training with Gai-sensei and the others as of tomorrow."

"Okay, then I guess we'll be on our way, right Hina-chan?" Naruto asked, picking up the Hyuuga heiress piggy-back style. She nodded softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as the two of them made their way to the food district of the village.

Ten-Ten looked back to Daisuke as she went on, "Being on that nutty team will take away a good portion of my free time, so I won't be seeing many of you. Especially if we enter the Chunin Exams this year, which we probably will."

"Then you'll be going up against us as one of the opposing teams," Kazuma said, grinning slightly.

The weapons expert quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Is your sensei really going to let you three enter the exam despite you guys having just graduated?" She knew that some rookie genin teams had been allowed in the past to participate, but they hardly ever made it to the rank of chunin so soon let alone on the first attempt.

"Of course! Kommando-sensei may have been here for the last two or so years, but we have been learning from him for as long as we've known Daisuke," Ruri said, her attitude brightening. "Plus, we would receive a scroll from him every so often after the long-term mission started that contained some techniques for us to work on and a scroll with a shadow clone of him sealed inside it, to kinda give us a face-to-face interaction with him."

Daisuke laughed abruptly. "That explains why he would spend a few days at the beginning of every month in deep meditation! Controlling a shadow clone over that much distance I'm sure can be real taxing."

"Well that's good to hear for you guys. I can't wait to see you guys at the exams then." Ten-Ten waved goodbye to the others after she gave Daisuke a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. She made her way out of sight, in the direction of the shop that her family owned as the remaining genin found themselves wanting to go and get caught up on old times.

Daisuke faced his childhood friends and smiled. "Well, let's get back to my place. There's enough room at the apartment we've been using for the last few years that you guys can stay with us. Raven and Amanda should have a spare bed somewhere, and you can just crash on the couch Kazuma."

* * *

"So Naruto, how was that last mission you guys just returned from?" Teuchi asked as he placed a big bowl of combo ramen in front of the blonde. Ayame smiled at Naruto as she picked up the empty bowl from in front of Hinata and took it behind the curtain to put into the sink for cleaning later.

"It was a real interesting one, Teuchi! We ran into a group of enemy ninja from Kirigakure and we almost didn't make it through the last encounter we had with them!" Naruto said energetically. Noodles flew into his mouth at a speed only rivaled by the Akimichi as he recounted the revised version of the mission. Hinata blushed as he told them about the room the two of them had been allowed to use during the training days when they had free time.

"Wow, sounds like you're really becoming a great ninja already, Naruto. I hope this will one day help you in your goal to become Hokage," said the man behind the counter, stirring a pot of noodles and grilling some beef for another customer.

"Yeah, well we also got something of a big surprise when we reported back in earlier this afternoon," the blonde said, his voice dropping to a lower tone as he placed his chopsticks into the now empty bowl.

"Oh? And what could that be?" Teuchi asked, not having the luxury of looking at his best customer.

Naruto adjusted the plate on his hitai-ite before he responded. "Well, it turns out that Sasuke-teme is gone; he disappeared apparently not long after we left for our mission into Wave."

Teuchi almost dropped his stirring spoon in the pot at this. "You mean Uchiha Sasuke, the kid that was spared by his older brother when he massacred the entire clan years ago? He just up and vanished?"

"Yeah… No one has any idea of what is going on, and we can't send anyone out to look for him what with the Chunin Promotion Exams coming up. Plus by the time they found out he was actually gone, they said that any chances of tracking were too slim to even try, since they found no clues of where he might've gone," Naruto responded somberly.

Teuchi placed the spoon on the lid of the noodle pot and reached over the counter, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder in comfort. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll see Sasuke again one day kiddo."

Hinata hugged his other arm as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Teuchi-san is r-right, Naruto-kun. We will meet up with Sasuke-san again…"

Naruto bowed his head, thinking back to all the time that Sasuke had been there at the Academy to scorn him, call him a loser, and sometimes lead the others in teasing him. His thoughts went on to show him that maybe Sasuke having left wasn't such a bad thing. But then his ethics came into play.

'No! A true shinobi doesn't abandon their comrades. I will find you Sasuke-teme. In the very least, I will find out why you left…'

He looked back up and smiled kindly at Hinata. "Yeah, I guess you're right Hina-chan We will run into him again."

She blushed as she closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his arm, enjoying the scent filling her nose.

Teuchi smiled as he went back to his pot of noodles and fixed up the order of beef ramen that had been on the list for more than it should have been. 'It's good to see that Naruto has finally found someone.'

Naruto glanced at the clock on the wall and looked through the flaps. He shook his head slightly as he faced Hinata again, nudging her oh so carefully with his arm. "Hey, Hinata, c'mon. We should be getting you home; you haven't even had time to let your father know what happened yet."

Hinata lazily opened her eyes and glanced at the clock herself and let out a deep sigh. She really diddn't want to leave her spot on Naruto-s arm, but he was right, it was late and they needed to get some rest for the next day.

"Alright Naruto-kun, l-let's go."

Naruto smiled as he dug through his cargo pouch and brought out his frog wallet, and left enough coins on the counter from it to pay for the food. Placing the wallet back as he and Hinata got up, Naruto wrapped his free arm across her shoulders as they proceeded to walk out from the cover of the ramen stand and down the street.

* * *

A little while later and the pair found themselves standing outside the open gateway to the Hyuuga Complex. Hinata looked down at her feet as Naruto wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"I'm glad we're home now, Hina-chan. Now go on, I'm sure your father is anxious to hear all about the revised mission report," he whispered into her ear. She let out a slight 'eep' as he 'accidentally' brushed his lips against he ear lobe when he let go of her.

"Naruto-kun, if we don't have an-anything to do with Shikamaru and A-Asuma-sensei, would you… like to go out a-and relax at our spot near the waterfall?" the still shy girl asked, her toes pointed towards each other and wiggling as her forefingers poked together.

'Kami, she's so cute when she's nervous like this.' "Of course Hina-chan, I'd love to spend the day with you tomorrow if nothing else's planned for our team. I'll find Asuma-sensei after I get some breakfast and find out if he's signed us up for any missions, and if not then I'll come and get you, okay?" he asked, eyes closed as he gave her the 'foxy' grin.

She smiled and nodded her head. "Alright then, I will see you t-tomorrow Naruto-kun."

Naruto's grin grew wider before he let it loose, his head slightly lowering as it drew closer to Hinata's face. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he made his way back to his apartment, leaving Hinata there at her doorstep giddy as a schoolgirl.

"Hinata, it is good to see you have returned from your mission and in fine health," came the firm but softening tone of Hiashi, startling Hinata out of her reverie. He motioned to her and they both headed into the complex, the guards closing the wrought iron gates behind them.

"Hello otou-san. We were in the Hokage's office almost the entire time a-after we arrived. I just returned after having some ra-ramen with Naruto-kun," she said as she removed her sandals. Hinata followed her father to his study. They both sat down on the small cushions after Hinata closed the door quietly behind them, taking a moment to each enjoy the calm.

Hiashi closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "It is good that you are home, daughter. I hope that all went well on your first mission outside of the village?"

Hinata simply nodded as she began to reiterate the censored version of the mission to her father. Hiashi listened intently to the details and displayed no emotion, keeping his eyes closed the entire time. When she finished, Hiashi opened his eyes and leveled his gaze upon his daughter's eyes.

"Hinata, what reason do you have to lie to me?" he asked flat out after a moment.

This caught Hinata off guard. "W-what are you talking about, otou-san?"

"I was paying attention to your energy flows and your vocal intones during your recollection of the mission happenings, and I could tell that certain parts were false while the rest of the report was true. Why do you lie to me? You know there is no need to do that." His voice was still calm and soft as when he had first greeted her, but now it had an underlying tone of demand to it.

Hinata thought for a moment, but then realized that it was really just fruitless to try and avoid it with more lies. "I am sorry otou-san, but the true mission report has been classified as an S-rank secret between the teams involved, the Hokage, and the Yamikage who had been present at the time for another matter concerning one of his shinobi, w-whom had been on the other team with mine during the mission."

Hiashi inwardly smiled, noticing that his daughter was slowly gaining self confidence and her stuttering was beginning to fade. 'Maybe it truly is for the best that she and the Uzumaki be together. It has obviously done a lot to improve the image she has of herself. Now if only Neji could find someone to ease his heart and pain…' "I see, then there is no point in my trying to further press the matter. Just so long as the reasoning behind it is sound and kept safe for good reason, I have no qualms about being kept in the dark about the true events of your first real shinobi mission."

"Thank you, otou-san." Hinata carefully stood up from the cushion and bowed to her father, receiving a bow of the head in return. "If there is nothing else, then I would like to go and get some rest. If nothing is planned for my team tomorrow, then Naruto-kun and I will be spending it relaxing."

"No, that is all that I wanted to discuss Hinata. I will see you tomorrow, goodnight."

"Good night, otou-san," she said softly before she left the study and made her way upstairs to her own bedroom.

* * *

Naruto walked along the corridor to his apartment after having dropped off Hinata and found a loud commotion going on in the apartment next door. 'What could those guys be doing making such a racket at this time of night?' he thought.

"May as well see what the hell is going on…" Naruto said as he walked up to the door and knocked.

Before a moment could pass by, Naruto found himself face-to-face with a pair of faces wearing sunglasses. Each one looked at Naruto and then at each, then grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt and puled him into the apartment abruptly.

"Whoa!" Naruto let out as he fell onto his stomach after the door closed behind him. "What the hell is going on guys? What are you doing that is making such a big fuss at this time of night?"

Kommando looked over Daisuke, who then pointed at the scene in the middle of the living room in the rather large apartment. Naruto looked over and was srurpised at what he saw.

On the table there were a variety of strangely shaped objects that seemed to be made from different materials like metal and plastic, as well as some that were wiggly and jiggly. There were also straps and chains and cloths on the table, and a few bottles that had labels on them he was not able to read. He then raised his head and saw Amanda standing on the other side of the table, with a towel wrapped around her. And behind her, the blonde could faintly see…

A mop of wet purple hair.

"Whose that behind you, Amanda?" he asked, pointing at the hairdo peeking up behind her right shoulder.

Amanda quickly flipped her hair back and over the person behind her as she faced the three males before her. "That is none of your concern, blondie." She leveled her gaze onto Kommando and Daisuke, noticing their attempts to use the new arrival as a decoy so they could make a hasty escpae. "And what do you two think would come of bringing _him_ into this?" she asked, her voice demanding an answer.

The person behind Amanda stayed hidden, but Naruto could tell that they shivered at hearing the voice, but couldn't tell what the shiver was about since the room was actually fairly warm.

Daisuke sweatdropped as they halted. Kommando looked back at his cousin, and nodded his head. Daisuke ran back to the front door and promptly grabbed Naruto by his hitai-ite and yanked him into the room where Kommando had scampered off to.

"DON'T THINK YOU'RE GOING TO GET OFF SCOT-FREE YOU THREE!" Amanda yelled at their retreating forms, not doing anything further after hearing the slam of a door. She sighed and turned her attention to the person behind her, embracing the smaller body as she lowered her head down. "Now where were we?" she purred, kissing Anko's lips softly, dropping her towel to the floor in the process...

* * *

**Okay, maybe I should have put this at the beginning of the chapter, but I got lazy. Yes, I've decided to start throwing some lime-scented goodness in the mix, but nothing good like the important pairs. That will have to wait, as the fluffometer is only at about thirty-five out of one hundred.**

Itachi: But for right now, this should make a lot of people leave interesting reviews. (grins widely again)


	27. Threads Abound in Preparation

(Itachi pulls out a clipboard from the innards of his costume)

Itachi: Okay, first up is the statistics this story has accumulated thus far. As of Thursday the 27th, one month after having published the Preface, 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate' has accumulated over 14.5k hits amongst 26 chapters! With a total of 77 reviews, 29 people having marked it in their favs, and 31 marking it for alerts, we am very happy with the outcome of this story so far.

(rips off the first page and looks at the second)

Itachi: Nothing much else to report other than the stats at the one-month anniversary. Anything to add, Djinn?

**Nope, other than to go and take a look at the new forum I've put up. If you need to see how the idea for it came about, go and take a look at the thread in Bullwinkle's Lady's forums about her story give-a-way for 'Selfish'. Everything can be understood from there.**

(Tosses clipboard away and curls up on the floor)

Itachi: Now for the next installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate', chapter 27!

* * *

Naruto emerged from his room after hearing a loud series of knocks at his door, doing his best to avoid stepping on the bodies on the floor. "Yeah yeah, I'm coming, keep your pants on." He had not gotten much sleep the night before since most of the people that were now residing in Daisuke's apartment had come and crashed at his place, since Amanda had 'company' last night.

He yawned as he opened the door and quickly found a cinnamon roll shoved into his gaping maw. "Hmm-mmm mmm-mm-mmmm?" he asked, trying to ask through the sweet roll.

Hinata smiled at him sweetly as she was holding a bag of the delectable treats in one hand and a large container of milk in the other. He then realized the cinnamon roll in his mouth was also occupying her mouth, having their faces more then a couple inches apart from each other. She winked at him as she tugged playfully at the roll they were sharing.

Naruto smirked as best he could behind the breakfast roll and tugged back a bit. The two of them continued to tug at it playfully, making sure it didn't tear in half on them as Naruto pulled her into the apartment. They would have continued but the cinnamon roll finally gave way from the saliva dripping from their mouths.

They found out the hard way that the food morsel they'd been playing tug of war with wasn't all that durable when it finally split between them, causing Hinata to bump up against the corner of the kitchen counter and Naruto to fall backwards and trip over a mass of black clothing and red hair lying on the floor.

Hinata gasped in pain as she fell to her knees, one hand shooting behind her to quickly rub away the sharp pains the corner had given her upon impact. "Ouch, that hurt like a bitch…" she let out quietly, despite the amount of pain she was in.

Naruto groaned as he sat up and looked at the scene. Upon realizing what exactly it was that he had tirpped over, Naruto quickly scrambled up and jumped to hide behind Hinata. The confusion Hinata was feeling was explained when she looked from Naruto to the mound of red hair and black material get up from the ground, killer intent coming in massive waves from it.

"Who… dares… wake… me… up!?" Ruri yelled, her hands holding the hammers she kept on chains at her hips.

"I'm sorry Ruri, I didn't know you were there!" Naruto called back, trying to hide behind Hinata more.

The Ankoku kunoichi turned and faced the pair, her covered gaze fixing on the two of them. "I do not care if you didn't see me, you should… be... more... CAREFUL!" She exclaimed the last part as she threw a hammer at the two of them.

Hinata saw the incoming weapon aimed at them, and was surprised as her instincts kicked in. With a blur of hand signs she had never seen before, she shoved Naruto out of the way as she proceeded to rotate in her spot. The flying hammer made contact with the chakra she was expelling from all the tenketsu in her body, forming a shield bubble around her, causing it to bounce off harmlessly and smash through the wall seperating Naruto's apartment and the one the Ankokugakure shinobi used.

Naruto and Ruri both looked on at the sight: a hole was now positioned in the middle of the wall, easily wide enough for someone to slip through. Both of them turned back to Hinata, eyes as large as dinner plates. "Whoa," came out of both their mouths in surprise.

Moments passed in silence until a pair of heads popped out of the sizeable hole in the wall. "What the hell is going on here?" Amanda asked.

"And what happened to the wall?" Anko asked as she wrapped herself back up in her trench coat.

Naruto and Ruri didn't say a word, all they did was merely point a limp finger at Hinata.

Both of the older kunoichi turned their attention to see a very shocked Hinata standing in the middle of a small crater, splinters around her as a chunk of the corner that had prodded her in the back was laying on the floor a foot away.

Amanda raised an eyebrow as Anko fell backwards. "Wow, that must've been some jutsu, but again, what the hell happened?"

Naruto recomposed himself slowly and kept his gaze on the Hyuuga heiress, noting somehow that both women in the hole were not completely attired for the day ahead. "Well, Hina-chan came in with breakfast, and one thing led to another and I tripped over Ruri, since she was sleeping here," quickly giving Anko and Amanda the finger, "last night. She woke up and was pissed because I woke her up, and I hid behind Hina-chan."

Hinata finally snapped out of her daze and finished the details for him, pulling him by the hand to her. "When Ruri was standing upright, she got frustrated and tossed one of her hammers at us. Before I knew it, I unknowingly performed the ultimate de-defense of the Hyuuga clan, the Hakke Shou Kaiten, which caused her ha-hammer to go and hit the wall, causing that hole you're in now."

'Wow, never thought I'd get to see the result of a Hyuuga using _that_ move,' Amanda thought to herself, noting the underlying joy in Hinata's eyes.

'Damn, she's gonna be one helluva ninja when she's older,' Anko thought to herself as she saw the amount of splintered wood laying on the kitchen floor.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, we have to meet Asuma-sensei at the Hokage Tower before we can go out," Hinata said, picking the dropped bag of rolls and the jug of milk from the doorway. She carefully placed them on an undamaged part of the counter, and started looking through the cupboards for cups.

Ruri finally was able to get over the shock of the recent event when Naruto started to tap her hitai-ite plate gently. She proceeded to gingerly step over the bodies of her sleeping comrades and got to where Anko and Amanda were still poking their heads in, and held her hand out. "Can I please get 'Depravity' back?"

Amanda reached down to the floor on her side of the wall and grabbed the hammer's chain, carefully lifting it up and placing it into Ruri's outstretched hand. "Be a little more careful with those things next time, will ya?"

"Sorry about that, Amanda. I'll try to be more careful, as long as I don't get stepped on again." She shot Naruto an evil glare before she walked over and started to kick each of the guys on floor to wake them up.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the Darkness kunoichi as he formed a shadow clone, who he had grab the food as he grabbed Hinata by the arm, all three of them disappearing out the door. Anko smirked at his hasty retreat while Amanda gleefully listened to the pain-filled groans coming from her comrades still on the floor.

* * *

Asuma turned his head from the shogi board he was sitting at, playing a game with Shikamaru, as he heard the fast steps of two people approaching the entrance to the Hokage Tower. There at the edge of the next block down stood Naruto and Hinata, looking around at the scenery while they made their way to the meeting.

"Heya Asuma-sensei, Shika. What's this all about anyways?" the blonde asked, raising his arms up and placing his hands behind his head.

Asuma reached into an outer pocket of his jonin vest and pulled out three pamphlets, handing each of his students one. "These are for the Chunin Promotion Exams that will be starting soon, right here in our own village this time around. You all have about a week to decide on whether or not you'll join, but it's up to you." Naruto stuffed his into his pouch while Shikamaru and Hinata placed each of theirs into pockets lining their vests.

"On the day the exam is supposed to start, be sure to be at the Academy no later than three in the afternoon, or else you guys won't be able to compete and have to wait for the next one in Kiri, six months away," the temporarily smoke-free instructor said. He glimpsed to all sides before he continued. "I'm not supposed to tell you guys this, since it's supposed to be a part of the exam, but if any of you fails to go while one or two of you show up, the team would get held back for an entire year. It's another form of teamwork ability tracking, but a much more discrete and humane method they use."

"So we've all gotta agree to do this or else we can't even get in?" Naruto asked, dropping his hands down to his sides.

Asuma nodded once before moving a pawn forward two spaces, blocking the path Shikamaru's queen had to his king. "That's right. Just don't go around telling everyone, and make sure that the three of you are all sure that you are ready for this. If any of you feel it's too early for you to try the exam, then don't force the issues; that would just lead to problems."

Each student nodded in compliance as they took in the chorus of the early morning businesses and market stalls already hard at work for the day.

"Alright, you guys can go and do whatever you want. Just be prepared for the exams in a week, and take the kind of supplies you would need for an extended mission, but you won't need the clothes." And with that, he watched as Shikamaru moved his inconspicuous knight into position on the other side of Asuma's last move, making check again.

Naruto and Hinata looked on for a moment more before they departed their teammate and sensei, quietly holding hands as they made their way out of the village and into the forest, out to their favorite waterfall and river.

* * *

A group of young shinobi entered the gates to Konoha with little problems, having shown their paperwork as they walked past the guards and not stopping to give them a chance to protest. They didn't bother to give anyone a second glance, or they would have seen that the guards had actually backed off when they saw all four of them wore outfits that were similar in basic design to the standard for those of the Village Hidden in the Darkness.

The tallest was a few inches taller than the redheaded kunoichi, his short black hair ruffling in the breeze. A sword hung on his back, the scabbard bearing the inscription for 'despair' on the metal plate along the length. His standard Darkness attire stood out the most amongst the other three he was walking with since they all had alterations while his was actually normal. As they turned down another road from the main drag, they received many stares, mostly aimed at everyone but the tallest, as he was actually the most normal-looking.

The kunoichi of the group stood out fairly well, due to her red hair and her orange eyes. Her hair hung down in a tight braid below her waist, falling past her sheathed butterfly swords. The one on top bore a metal plate with 'fury' on it as the lower one bore 'wrath'. Everyone that saw her could swear that if her eyes and hair were blue, she'd almost look exactly like someone that'd been in Konohagakure for the last two years.

The one standing in the back was ignoring the looks his bald head and pale sickly appearance were getting him from the people as they moved on. His sleeveless coat and shirt showed glimpses of where the chain connected to the massive ball resting on his shoulder came from. His pale blue eyes showed the pain he had experienced throughout his life.

The last member of the group fiddled with a small piece of hard wood, his black hair showing off the green streaks in it as they turned the last corner before he saw their destination with his piercing green eyes. His standard outfit was only set apart by the fact that the left sleeve from both shirt and coat he wore were missing.

They all continued to ignore the nasty looks they got from everyone they passed as they finally reached the place they had been instructed to locate. The one with the short black hair looked sidelong at the rest of his comrades. "Gonna be interesting to see how they've all changed over the last two years."

"I can't wait to see how far Raven has come along in her skills," commented the redhead.

"Yeah, I myself wonder how much Daisuke has learned here with Kommando and Amanda-sensei," added Green-streaks, scratching his chin, stroking the little chin hairs in a testing manner.

The bald one merely shook his head. "All that matters is that we get in contact with them, and find out what it is we're supposed to do while we're here, since we won't be taking the exams ourselves."

A figure came out of a door not far ahead of them and jumped over the railing, her retreating form revealing it to be a shinobi of a high skill level. Green-streaks blushed as he saw the skirt the retreating nin was slightly riding up with the trench coat she wore flapping up in the wind.

The redhead playfully smacked him upside the head as they saw another figure come out the same door, this one watching the departing shinobi and oblivious to her awaiting company.

"Hello there, Amanda-sensei, it has been quite a while."

This effectively brought the blue-haired woman out of her reverie as she turned down the walkway and saw the group. Her eyes widened briefly before she came up and bopped each of them on the head. "What are you lot doing here? I thought you weren't up for taking the exam due to what you four did last year." Her words did nothing to convey a welcome greeting to them just yet.

"Yeah, well, we may not be up for taking the exams ourselves, but we were still called in for something, and we figured that coming to you would be the best thing we could do after getting here," the redhead said.

Amanda folded her arms over her chest and gave out a sigh. She figured they must be really getting prepared if they called in the Destruction Corps for the exams. "Well, I don't know what exactly Jack could be planning, but something terrible must be on the way if he's bringing his own sons into the mix this early."

"It can't be helped if Father thinks we are needed. Being shinobi, we have no choice but to fight where we are ordered to, and against whom," responded the tall one.

"Kyle, you were always the most like your father, it's just scary sometimes how much you already resemble him in more than the physical sense." Amanda led the group to her door and ushered them in, thankfully having just gotten done with taking care of that hole in the wall from earlier. "Go ahead and take a seat as you can find it. I'm gonna go next door and get the others."

Each of the four genin nodded and sat down in the living room, leaving Amanda to go retrieve her comrades from Naruto's apartment. After several moments an a lot of yelling, in walked Daisuke, Ruri, Kazuma and Kommando, all being shoved in by Amanda. She could only tell that this was the start to a horrible day already.


	28. Returned of the Damned

(Itachi comes out of the bathroom with a trail of toilet paper stuck to his foot going unnoticed)

(Itachi comes out of the bathroom with a trail of toilet paper stuck to his foot going unnoticed)

Itachi: Okay folks, today brings us almost 16k hits and over 80 reviews. Thanks to DM180 for pointing out the spelling thing. Just proves that I should have done more than just put in the horizontal rules before I released 27 yeserday. But meh, I already fixed all those.

**As far as I can think of, there's nothing else for us to worry about weasel-man. So let's get to it.**

(Itachi salutes)

Itachi: Alright folks, enjoy the 28th chapter of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'!

**Oh, Itachi…**

Itachi: Yes Djinn?

**You got some toilet paper playing follow the leader.**

(Itachi looks down and immediately scrambles back into the bathroom, leaving the audience to hear a toilet flushing as they begin to read the new chapter)

* * *

One week later, and Konoha was bursting with shinobi from all over the Five Great Shinobi Nations, as well as some from the smaller villages including a team from Hidden Waterfall and Hidden Tree. Today was the day the shinobi had been gathering in the Hidden Leaf village: it was the start of the Chunin Promotion Exams, and all the participants were preparing before the deadline for entering was drawing near. At one small ramen stand, all the stools were occupied by genin bearing the headbands of Ankoku and Konoha. They were enjoying one last round of ramen as friends before they departed for the Academy.

"So what exactly happened when Konohamaru ran into that guy from Suna?" Daisuke asked, popping some pork into his mouth.

Naruto looked at him with a bunch of noodles hanging form his mouth, but was cut off as Hinata used her own chopsticks to place the danglers into his mouth and spoke for him. "When we finally caught up to Konohamaru he was being held up by the scruff of his shirt by someone in a black one-piece suit that carried a large bundle on his back."

Naruto stuffed the noodles and meat into his cheeks, making himself look like a gerbil as he spoke. "The guy was holding Konohamaru was threatening to squish him like a bug or something like that just because he wasn't looking where he was going. At that point Hina-chan and me arrived and found out they were from Suna for the exams. There was also a kunoichi with blonde hair tied into four stupid-looking pigtails, a weird outfit and a rather large steel fan strapped to her back."

Hinata sighed, noting that he was still not minding his manners but at least was not trying to talk through an entirely full mouth of food.

Kazuma slurped up the last of his bowl and placed his bill on the counter and turned to the others. "So how did the little squirt manage to get out of that situation?"

The blonde swallowed the contents of his cheek pouches in one move and almost choked, but pounded his chest a few times to help get the food down the right tube. Hinata sweatdropped as she hung her head in disgrace. 'Looks like Naruto-kun still has a ways to go before he gerts to come over for his first dinner with the family…'

He finally calmed his choking down and answered the question, trying hard to not guzzle water between every few words. "Well, when we got there we calmly asked him to let go of Konohamaru, but it soon became a drastic situation when the guy tightened his grip and was about to throw the kid, but then Ruri came in and-"

"I came in after finally catching up to the little punk and his group, and threw Depravity at the Sand-bastard. I would have gotten him smack in the face but a thing of sand rose up and stopped it only an inch from his face. Then some freak with red hair and a gourd on his back," Ruri piped in, finishing off her dumplings.

"A gourd on his back?" Daisuke asked hesitantly. He was sweating on the inside, hoping that what he was thinking wasn't true.

"Yeah, and he had a tattoo of the symbol for 'love' above his left eye in red also. It was real freaky, considering that when we finally saw him, he was standing upside down from a tree branch." Naruto started then to think on what he could do if he learned to control his chakra to be able to walk on walls and ceilings more often.

Hinata shivered as she filled them in on what happened next. "When he spoke, it was as if he had never felt compassion for anyone else… I could almost see it in his eyes, that he had lived without any love. I almost think he was raised in a cell and only fed through a slot, and only left it to go and kill or something else brutal like that."

Daisuke covered his face in his hands and sighed deeply into them. 'Fucking shit… Just like Jack said, Suna just _had_ to send him for this…'

Shikamaru looked at the shade-wearing genin and quirked an eyebrow. "Something seems to be troubling you Daisuke, what's up?"

Daisuke looked through his fingers for a moment before he covered them back up and answered. "I wish I could tell you guys, but there are certain things Jack doesn't want spouted out and about at this point in time."

Kazuma and Ruri both gave him demanding looks as they folded their arms in front of them, leaning forward to look past each of the people between them and Daisuke. "And were you ever going to tell _us_ this information?" they asked, a tone of command in their voices.

Before anyone could say anything, screams could be heard throughout the village. This caused everyone in sight to look around in confusion. The genin at the ramen bar looked at each other, and then saw several blurs zoom past Ichiraku's, most noticeably a pink and platinum blonde blur.

"What the hell is going on?" all six of the gathered genin asked in unison. As if on cue, Choji ran into the shade of the stand and leaned over, hands on his knees as he panted to catch his breath.

"Guys… there's something… going… on… at the gate… It's about… Sasuke."

Before the pleasantly plump genin could blink, each of the unpaid meals were soon paid in full and then some as each their buyers almost seemed to fly out of the stand, leaving Ruri and Kazuma in puzzlement as Choji was still trying to keep from hyperventilating.

"Whose Sasuke?" Kazuma asked.

* * *

Naruto and the others reached the gates and found a huge crowd gathered in front of them, most of them older shinobi and a large grouping of fangirls. They all looked at each other and nodded, and then proceed to plow their way through the crowd with shadow clone rams. The screaming and yelling amidst the crowd got louder the closer they got to the front, and by the time they finally broke out of the group, they could finally see what the big problem was.

There, standing in the middle of the gates to the village, stood a group of four shinobi, each of them wearing a headband with a musical note on it. The tallest amongst them was obviously their jonin instructor, in basic attire and looking rather nondescript. The three before him were what stood out amongst everything else.

The genin on the right had red hair, similar to Ruri's, but she wore a small stocking cap on her head. She wore a simple grayish shirt over knee-length pants, a thick rope around her waist and tied behind her in a large knot. She scowled at everyone that was looking at her, despite some of the leers and heart-shaped eyes from some of the male genin aimed her way. 'What the fuck are all these cock-sucking faggots gawking at? It's as if Kami herself took a fucking shit right in front of them and they'd thought it was pure gold…'

The genin on the left was almost as tall as the jonin behind him, his white hair falling limply down from his scalp as it part down the middle. Two red dots were occupying his forehead above his straight up from the bridge of his nose. He wore an white shirt that hung open, his pants baggy all the way down to his sandals. His eyes conveyed an uncaring and cold outlook on life. He gazed only at the buildings beyond the group, almost as if he could care less about all the people in his way. 'Now I see why it is that Orochimaru-sama seeks to destroy this village; the people and shinobi have no manners and apparently no respect.'

What stood out the most was the genin in the middle, the shortest of them all. He wore all black: black sandals adorning his feet, black cargo shorts heavy with supplies, his black sleeveless shirt, armguards with metal studs in them forming a symbol that struck some of the shinobi and older citizens as familiar, even the cloth that his symbol plate was on was black. His black hair fell over it in the front, while the hair in back was pushed up from his neck and held up by the knot of his hitai-ite, forming a 'duck-butt' hairdo. 'Losers, all of them losers.'

Naruto stared at the group, curious as to what was going on. Hinata gasped as soon as she saw the genin in the middle. Shikamaru wearily eyed the group without showing his surprise at what was before them. Daisuke was glaring daggers at genin in the middle as well as the 'jonin' instructor. Before anyone else was able to do or say something, almost all the girls and young kunoichi rushed forward at the group.

Daisuke noticed someone had just appeared on top of the gateway with a smirk, seeing the hand signs the figure was going through at an alarming rate. 'This is going to be quite hilarious, even with him getting a beating for it.' He quickly tugged at the sleeves of his companions and motioned for them to look up just as the figure started speaking in a rather large volume as the mob of females started to pinpoint their aim at the genin in the middle.

"Wow, this is a truly remarkable sight folks! We have arrived just in time to witness the legendary 'Konohagakure Amazon Mate-hunt', something that hasn't happened in a few months according to the locals. We have not seen this before, but it's said to be a savage and truly terrifying event to behold, with participants from all over the region in the large group of fighters. Their goal: to snag the elusive alpha male, who has been called many things by every sect of the locals, but shall be named 'teme' by our leading informant. Often times it's been recorded that the amazons will use anything from weapons to furniture to high-pitched shrieking in the pursuit of said alpha male. To their dismay though, 'teme' has not shown any signs of interest in any of them at all. Maybe it is because he thinks none of them are worthy of his seed…" Kazuma belted out, grateful he'd learned a voice-loudening jutsu when he was younger. It came in handy when you wanted to gather attention or cause a huge distraction, which he would often use in both manners while getting Daisuke time to run or finish up a prank.

Many of the females in the mob turned up to the origin of the voice and started to stare daggers as he continued on, oblivious to the looks.

"Or maybe it's that 'teme' is interested in older women, maybe even those that have already proven themselves of birthing children. He could be planning to find the women with the strongest loins to produce his proud and noble children." And this caused most of the younger generation of females started to seemingly grow fangs and develop slit eyes, each of them starting to let off a wave of killer intent at the blind Darkness-nin. "Or, perhaps, the widely-prized alpha male had forsaken his duty to produce offspring long ago, fed up with the constant hunting, and has turned his 'attentions' to those of his own gender."

At this point several of the shinobi amongst the large crowd started to charge up the walls of the gate and lunge for the young boy. "Oh no, it seems I've been discovered by the wild women of Konohagakure! They seem rather irate, but I don't know why. Did I interrupt their long overdue ritual?" He barely dodged several kunai and shuriken that were thrown at him from below, sending him directly into the path of a rather lithe kunoichi that latched onto him. "Tune in next time as I show you the scars and reattached limbs I'll surely have!" he managed before the sheer weight of two more kunoichi grabbed on, effectively breaking his chakra control from his spot upside down on the entryway to the village.

The large mob of furious girls and kunoichi caught Kazuma as he fell, the three that pulled him down landed on their feet as they all proceeded to carry him off to where they could convey their 'feelings' about his narrative skills.

None of the mob may have been too fond of Kazuma's antics, but the four genin that arrived moments before the incident could do nothing but laugh their asses off. Naruto was actually rolling on the floor from the depth of the truth that ran in the joke. Daisuke almost was at that same point himself, using Shikamaru's crying form as a support as Hinata was barely holding back from letting a full-blown gut-busting laugh escape her lips. "Oh man, that was GREAT!" Daisuke yelled, falling to his knees as his faced almost smashed into the ground.

Three of the four shinobi in the gateway sweatdropped as the fourth scowled greatly at the sight before him. 'Damn westerners… You will all die by my hands for taking away my brother…' "I see that the dead last, the barbaric westerner, the lazy ass, and the stutterbug managed to survive this long."

Upon the shortest Sound genin speaking, each of them froze while the remaining gathering gasped. "Sasuke-teme?" Naruto said, stilling his form on the ground.

Daisuke shot up straight when he recognized the Uchiha. "I see you weren't kidnapped, Uchiha; you simply defected."

"How can one defect from their village when they were never made a genin? I simply went some place that recognized my skills and wouldn't hold me back from pursuing my goals." His voice was cold as he stared directly at the four genin in front of him.

"Sounds like something the Council would agree with. I'm sure that they would gladly do anything to have you back, probably even go as far as to banish and prohibit any shinobi from my village from Konohagakure just to have you rebuild the fucking pompous clan of yours." Daisuke returned the stare just as easily, but something was different than when he would normally stare someone down. This time, his eyes started to glow a bit as the pentagrams unnoticeably began to turn in opposite directions.

"If I were not already a shinobi of Otogakure, I would gladly return to this pathetic shit hole if only to have the chance for all the barbarians evicted once and all from here." He spoke with gleeful malice as he noticed that on the outside, Daisuke had hardly changed during his short time away. But he could sense that something was definitely amiss, something drastic had changed with Daisuke. He then turned to Naruto, and could tell that something was also very wrong with him.

'What is going on? Why do I feel like something very terrible has been unleashed, something that is very old…' Sasuke merely brushed his thoughts aside as he noticed the crowd part as a pair of figures approached them.

Both figures were in the formal Kage-style robes, one wearing white and red while the other wore pure black. Behind them followed a mix of Konoha ANBU and Insane Devils, led by a masked figure with long purple hair and Carlos Loki. Naruto and the others quickly moved to one side as the procession came up to the group at the gate.

The Hokage removed his pipe, tapped it gently and put it away. He looked each of the four before him until he finally settled on Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke, I have been wondering if you would ever set foot back into Konoha again."

"The only reason I even bothered to come here is to take the exams. I wouldn't come here otherwise, as nothing is left here in this wretched pile of filth." He narrowed his eyes at the mixed procession of force behind the leaders. "I especially would never return as long as the demons of Darkness and their fucking hell-spawn were allowed to roam the village freely.'

While the tallest of the Sound genin and the instructor were indifferent, her teammate talk to the leader of the hosting village made the redhead grin. 'Seems Sasuke has already started to take after us of Oto.'

Jack was disappointed and glad at the same time at the fact he had to leave his rapier with Carlos. "You would do best to learn your place, Uchiha. To speak of those around you that are stronger can prove to lead to undesired injuries."

The jonin behind the squad stepped past the students and moved forward. "You would be best warned that such threats could be taken as intimidating threats and acts of war, Yamikage-sama. We of Oto have no alliance with you or any other village, and are not hesitant to act upon hostile acts made against any or all shinobi of our village." His gaze settled directly on the face of the Yamikage, cold black eyes glaring into clod blue eyes.

"Otogakure stands as no threat to Ankokugakure, not now and certainly no time in the near or distant future. Your village will never pose a threat no greater than a like a flea bite to a dog." Jack stepped forward and squared himself against the taller man. He could tell something about the man in front of him was familiar. He had no idea what it could have been though.

The taller man looked for one last moment at the Yamikage. "Then let us hope that it does not come down to war to see who truly is the dog and who is the flea." He then turned to face the older Hokage, and spoke in a somewhat gentler tone of voice. "I am here with my students from Otogakure as they are to participate in the Chunin Promotion Exams. I bring with me Tayuya, Kaguya Kimimaro, and Uchiha Sasuke. We still have some time before the deadline, do we not Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi eyed the jonin from Sound carefully as he gave his response. "Yes, but time is slipping fast, and the proctor this year is rather anal retentive about staying on schedule and proceeding with or without all the participants present. I would strongly recommend that you get your students to the Academy soon, or else they will have to wait for the next examinations in Kirigakure six months from now."

The jonin instructor bowed to the Hokage and signaled to his students. Each one nodded as they came forward, bowing to the older Kage as they followed their sensei through the crowd of shinobi to make their way to the Academy.

Jack rubbed his face with both hands as he saw the Sound team finally leave his sight. "This is going to be fucking great, Sarutobi. Not only did he defect in all regards of the term, but he defected to _that_ village, and you know what that means don't you?" he asked, looking at the Sandaime Hokage.

"Yes, it means that Orochimaru is that much closer in his plans already." Sarutobi took his pipe back out and filled it with fresh tobacco as he looked to the four genin that had stepped aside when the two Kages had first first arrived. "You four better be going as well. I don't want to have to wait six months to see you participate."

Each of them looked at each and nodded. They hastily bowed toe Sarutobi and Jack and made quick retreats to the Academy, leaving a dispersing group of civilians and the amassed ANBU and Insane Devils at the front gate with the two leaders.

"In the words of the Nara clan, this is going to be troublesome," the Hokage said, taking the first puff of his fresh pipe.

Jack nodded. "In the words of the Shiskimura clan, the distant cousins to the Nara, life's a bitch."

* * *

I would like to thank Dragon6 for permission of using his 'Konoha Amazons' bit from the sixth installment of his story 'A Family of Snakes & Foxes'. Before any of you ask, the chapter was originally written **before** Steve Irwin's untimely death so the joke was still in good taste, but it should not be so frowned upon as of now, unlike a Steve Irwin reference done by the creators of South Park that had the poor Croc Hunter showing up in Hell.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because I am having difficulties with my internet access right now and I do not know what it's going to take for me to get it working correctly again. So for right now I gotta use the internet from the public library to do this until that tiem comes that everything's back to normal.

Til next I post, laters!


	29. So It Begins

(Itachi scratches his ass, back turned to the audience)

**Hey Wonder Weasel, the audience has arrived.**

(Itachi turns his face to the crowd behind him, still scratching his ass)

Itachi: Oh, ummm… Hi everyone! We're glad that installment 28 went over so well! We received four reviews in less than a couple hours, which is really fast compared to the other chapters. We figured that Sasuke may as well attempt to become a chunin as soon as possible, so why not bring him back with the first possible opportunity, even if it was in Konoha.

**Now, despite your concerns, it is actually not considered defection from a military organization if you were never a part of that organization officially to begin with. So as to Sasuke getting arrested and detained in Konoha's prison, not gonna happen.**

Itachi: But don't worry, things are going to be very interesting with him and the other two here at this point in the story. And one last thing: thanks again to Dragon6 for use of his excellent bit 'Konoha Amazons'.

**Without further adieu, here's the 29****th**** installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'!**

* * *

As the group of four genin quickly made their way to the Academy, they saw a rather large blur of black catch up with them.

"Hey guys, what happened to this dumbass?" Ruri said, readjusting the bruised and bloodied lump over her shoulder as she continued to run over the rooftops. She was not in a happy mood, having first been left at Ichiraku's with him and that fatass Choji, then being separated from Kazuma no less than a few moments later as Choji had ran off to seek his instructor.

Daisuke didn't take the risk to look back at his teammates as they neared the large school building as he responded. "Well, he just _had_ to pull a dumb stunt at the gates when he got there. Remember that guy Sasuke that Choji mentioned?" He heard her give a grunt of a reply as they landed in the courtyard of the building. "Well, Kazuma must've remembered some of the stories that Naruto," smack said blonde on the head, "told him about the 'Uchiha Sasuke fangirl society' that would chase him all over the place and decided to pull a stupid prank."

"Was it one of his old ones that he used to pull on your fangirl clubs back home, or was this a new one?" the redhead asked, promptly dropping her cargo on the ground.

Naruto chimed in at this point, cutting off Daisuke. "It was great! Kazuma appeared at the top of the gateway to the village and then he made it sound like all the girls and kunoichi were some force of brutal and sexually depraved barbarian women that were constantly fighting each other for Sasuke-teme's tool! Oh you should have heard it, it was hilarious!"

Ruri sighed, then proceeded to slam Depravity down onto Kazuma's junk.

"YEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOW!" Kazuma screamed in pain as he bolted upright, hands immediately grasping his crotch.

"That's what you get for pulling that lame stunt in a foreign country, dipshit." She pulled on the chain attached to the handle of her hammer and it returned to her hand. "The least you could have done was create something original for this country."

"The best part was when he started hanging upside-down above Sasuke's group to avoid the first wave of fangirls from getting him, only to have the more able-bodied ones weigh him down enough for him to lose his concentration and fall right into the waiting jaws of the remainder down below," Daisuke said, tossing a rock at Kazuma's forehead.

"Gotta admit, it was funny as hell though," Kazuma said in a higher octive, still grasping his crotch in pain as Shikamaru covered his ears.

Hinata sighed at the boys' antics as she followed Ruri into the doorway of the building. Ruri turned back to them and called, "Hey, you pansies gonna hurry up or what? We've only got ten minutes before the deadline."

"Troublesome pranksters," Shikamaru let out as he made his way to the door. Naruto grinned his 'foxy' grin as he followed suit. Daisuke shook his head as he threw Kazuma's arm over his shoulder and hauled him into the building after everyone else.

Hinata and Ruri led the way up to where they heard a commotion, not paying attention at first. "Ruri, why is it that you seem to only get violent with that one hammer of yours?"

Ruri kept her face forward as they got to the stairs. "It's something I'll have to tell you about later, depending on whether or not we end up fighting each other at any given point during this exam."

"Hey guys, hang on a sec," Kazuma asked, his voice finally returning to its original sound. The group stood still as Kazuma stood up straight again. "If this exam is anything like the ones we had to do to get out of the Academy, it's going to be about teamwork at some point."

"I've been meaning to ask you guys, what was the Academy exam back home this year?" Daisuke asked, scratching the side of his face.

"We had to create a single Shadow Clone and spar with it for five minutes. If the clone didn't last that long, we had to make as many as it took to perform five minutes of taijutsu sparring." Ruri wiped off a bit of dust that fell from the ceiling after a large crash rattled the stairs above her. "Then we had to partner up and dodge our partner's kunai and shuriken for a minute solid. After that we just made a simple substitution with our partner after having transformed into them. Nothing too hard, but a lot of genin this year almost failed the taijutsu section since they had low amounts of chakra."

Kazuma coughed, trying to get everyone's attention again. "As I was trying to say, teamwork is going to most likely be a very big part at some point here. I think both of our teams should form an alliance if that type of exam comes up, and work together."

Hinata looked at her two teammates, receiving a nod from the cloud watcher and an energetic nod from Naruto. "We w-would gladly work with you, Kazuma, if th-there really is a part where we face something like that."

"Good, then the hardest part will be the one-on-one fights that will happen at the end," came a new voice. The six genin turned and looked at the bottom of the staircase to see four older genin behind them. "I see you guys already seem to know about teamwork, so let's hope it pays off and you can all make it to the finals."

"What is the Destruction Corps doing here, Kyle?" Daisuke asked, confusion running rampant on his face.

The one with short black hair smirked, answering, "Simple: Yamikage-sama asked us to come here and be a part of the detail to secure the safety of this year's examinees."

"Strikes me as odd that he'd ask you guys here, even though you guys have to wait another year for taking the exams yourselves again," Kazuma said, scratching his head.

Green-streaks looked at the slightly taller genin, a smirk on his face. "Can you blame us? We wanted to prove every Eastern village wrong about Ankokugakure so badly that we pulled a three month hiatus with our teams last year when the exam was in Kumo."

The bald one spoke up, catching Green-streaks off guard with his comment. "But it cost us my teammates in the end. Not only did they die during the finals, but we were all disqualified _and_ Father said we were not eligible to take the Chunin Promotion Exams for two years because of our stunt."

"Not to mention that since you and Nathan decapitated the people that killed your teammates got us and all other Westerners forever banned from entering Kumogakure," finished the redhead with them. Green-streaks' mouth grew into a huge grin at the memory.

"Good point, Lisa," Kyle said, wrapping his arm over her shoulders.

The jaws of those that had spent the last two years outside the Village Hidden in the Darkness almost broke through the floor. Before any of them could ask, Lisa held up a hand to silence them. "C'mon you lot, we have to get you all upstairs in a few minutes or else you have to wait until Kiri to try this."

Each of them nodded and traversed the stairs, coming up to the second floor. There at the doorway stood a pair of boys that seemed almost as old as Kyle and Nathan were in the way of the door that had a sign with '301' above it. In front of them was the team of students reformed under Gai facing off with Sasuke and the other two Oto genin he was with.

Daisuke noted that Ten-Ten and Neji were standing in between a downed boy in green with an ugly bowl cut with even worse orange leg warmers and huge eyebrows and the returned Uchiha survivor. Ten-Ten did not look happy to see the should-be traitor, and Neji was staring holes through him with the Byakugan active.

"I see you can't even use ninjutsu or genjutsu. What a pathetic ninja you must be." Sasuke closed his eyes and laughed coldly. "I'm amazed you were even able to graduate from the Academy without so much as the most basic of skills."

The older boy was struggling against his teammates to get by, trying to say something, but Naruto stepped up and slammed his fist into the back of Sasuke's head.

"At least he had the balls to endure his shortcomings and work past them, instead of running away like a chicken shit and join another village just to get what he wants," Naruto said through clenched teeth.

Before he could react, the blonde soon found himself pulled back and in the air, the taller white-haired genin on Sasuke's squad hoisting him into the air. "And at least he has the courage to face his opponents head-on rather than attack them from behind."

Daisuke was about to pull out one of his tonfa and slice off the taller genin's arm when a dark cloud of smoke appeared in the middle of the room. From the dark cloud came two larger people.

"I suggest you put him down, lest you piss off the proctors of the first exam, Kaguya," came Amanda's cold voice, her eyes glowing slightly with power.

"I'm sure that the leader of Oto would be just _thrilled_ to hear that his star genin team was disqualified for enticing fights before the exam even started," came Kommando's voice, sounding not much different than his associate. "Now, put him down, and be on your way."

The redhead from Sasuke's team stepped right up into Kommando's face, leaning in close. "What makes you think that we Sound shinobi would even fucking bother to listen to a motherfucking Darkness freak? You don't even look like the rest of the lame-ass bitches and bastards that your shitty village creates, dressed all in that retarded white clothing."

Kommando didn't lose his cool for one second as he leaned forward, causing the redhead to back away when their noses touched for a split second. "You would do well not to underestimate someone that wears the white attire of Ankokugakure, Tayuya. It signifies one of three things in our village."

Amanda held up three fingers and ticked them off as she spoke. "First, they enjoy killing to such a degree that it's almost like they're uncontrollably insane; second, they don't carry a weapon with an aspect of humanity on it; or third, they have some form of a disability."

Kommando reached up and removed his sunglasses without a sound. "I'm all three. I earned my place amongst the ranks of the Insane Devils long before I should have even been in the Academy, when my parents were killed right before my eyes. The enemy then gouged my eyes out so that I couldn't identify them, but they soon found themselves impaled with any sharp pointy object I could find. Needless to say, I was found standing in front of a mass of kunai, broken chair legs and bloody flesh by the Yamikage."

Before anyone could say anything else, there were two poofs of smoke at the doorway, and the two chunin that usually stood guard at the gate came forward. "Alright you lot, I'm sorry to break up story time, but you all need to get inside. The exam is almost about to begin, and the proctors won't tolerate there being any tardiness."

The tense genin eased up, and nodded to the chunin. Hinata let out the breath she had unknowingly been holding in as Kimimaro dumped Naruto on the floor, while Tayuya simply scowled and spat at Kommando's feet. "See you later, fuckface," she said as she turned and followed Sasuke and Kimimaro into the room behind the door.

Amanda turned to the teams and gave them a curt nod. "Go on, you need to get in there now, or else it'll be another six months before you get another chance."

Each of the remaining teams hastily entered the doorway and vanished from their sight, leaving Amanda and Kommando with the two chunin.

Kommando knelt down and picked up the capsule that Tayuya had spat at his feet, silently thanking the powers that be for none of the genin having noticed the trick.

"Is that what you guys told us to be on the lookout for?" Izumo asked, barring the door behind the last genin. Kotetsu stepped up and looked at the capsule for a second as the blind jonin handed it to Amanda.

"Sure is, and it's about damn time she reported in. At least we got this in time for what we already know is going to happen." Amanda looked it over before she put it in a pocket.

"I can't believe you guys got a spy in Orochimaru's circuit and amongst his top ranks no less. I just wonder if he knows yet?" Izumo said as he sat down against the door.

Kotetsu smirked. "I'm sure that if that traitor knew about it already he'd have sliced her into a lot of pieces and sent her corpse back to Ankoku long ago. No sense in letting his secrets getting out to all of the Western villages if he could help it, right?"

Kommando nodded, staying stoic as ever. "But we cannot be so sure of our information, as we still have yet to hear back from some of our other contacts with more information concerning other aspects of the situation."

"Well, at this point in time we just have to hope and pray that nothing goes down before our timetable says it is," Amanda said. She signaled the chunin with a wave as she and Kommando disappeared in a dark cloud of smoke.

Kotetsu came up to the doorway and sat across from his partner, letting out a sigh.

* * *

On the other side of the thick wall, the last nine genin entered a large room filled with a multitude of teams with varying hitai-ite symbols. Neji and his teammates broke off from te group to an empty corner while Naruto noted the villages gathered for the exams.

He could see there were only four teams from Konoha, six teams from Ankoku, one from Suna, Sasuke's and another team from Oto, three teams from Grass and Rain each, and a pair of teams from both Kiri and Kumo. The remaining symbols he was unfamiliar with.

Just as he was about to ask if any of his friends about the other villages, a genin with silver hair and round glasses came up to them. "Before you guys say or do anything stupid, I'd suggest you keep it down. Your friends over there," he pointed to the team of Sakura, Shino, and Kiba, "already make a huge ruckus when they entered the room about two hours ago. Needless to say some of the more jumpy participants got edgy. A guy from Hidden Sound even went as far as to attack the one with the dog in his hood."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Troublesome dog-boy. Can't learn to control his mouth." Hinata looked at Sakura and saw that her normally flowing hair was pulled back into a ponytail, as her usually long tight outfit was replaced with an outfit of dark red ad blue clothing that was more suited to the life and times of a shinobi. Naruto could only tell Shino was awake by the slight movements his head made as the Aburame glanced around the room every so often.

"Before the proctors show up, let me see if I can give you guys any help. Any of you interested in specific participants?" he asked, producing a stack of cards from within a pocket of his sleeveless jacket. "My cards use my chakra to record and contain information on all the shinobi that get registered with their villages. It's something of a hobby of mine."

Daisuke and Naruto stepped forward at once, the blonde beating the taller genin to his inquiries first. "Uchiha Sasuke from Oto."

"Hah, you know his name and his village of origin; that makes it so much easier to locate his information." With a hand sign, the genin pulled a card off the bottom of the deck and flipped it face up. A moment later and information started to appear on the card. "It seems that Uchiha Sasuke has hardly any time to do much of anything since he joined Otogakure less than one month ago. He's done only a handful of D-rank missions thus far. He is a known fire-specialist, and surprisingly has yet to activate his bloodline limit known as the Sharingan. Anything more on him is unknown."

Daisuke shoved Naruto to the side as he took his turn. " Kaguya Kimimaro and Tayuya, from Oto; Also, Gaara of the Desert from Suna."

"Ah, I see you are interested in Sasuke's teammates. Very well, let's see what I have." He focused his chakra a moment and pulled out two cards from the middle of the deck. "First, Kaguya: nothing much is known about him, aside from the number of D-ranks that he has done is the same as Sasuke. Tayuya on the other hand is a strange one. She has twice as many missions of D-rank done, and even a few C-rank. She is a specialist in both genjutsu and ninjutsu, using a flute to perform the jutsus instead of hand signs to mold her chakra."

'Seems she hasn't changed at all, according to Kommando's information. Though Kaguya is still a mystery himself, his clan bloodline isn't…' Daisuke thought. "What about Gaara?"

The strange genin put away the three Sound nin cards and pulled a card off the top of the deck, showing the face of a boy whose eyes were encircled with black bags and a tattoo of 'love' over his left eye as unruly red hiar topped off his head. "Gaara of the Desert, of Sunagakure. He has complete fifteen D-ranks, eight C-ranks, and even a B-rank. He seems to control the sand that is in that strange gourd of his…" he triled off for a moment. "This is odd."

The six genin all looked at him with curious glances. Hinata looked at the card, gasping when she read what it was he was surprised about.

"What is it, Hinata?" Ruri asked.

"It seems that G-gaara has never re-returned from a mission with even a scr-scratch on him…" she stuttered out, her gaze looking quickly around.

"Yes, it appears that way. But I still wonder if the cards are telling us the truth. I have yet to completely finish the fine-tuning of this, but it's mostly done," the genin said as he put the cards away.

Just as Naruto was going to ask another question, there was a loud boom at the front of the room. All the genin gathered looked up to see a pair of figures standing on the desk up front.

"Sorry that we're a few moments late, everyone. We both got lost on the road of life," came Kakashi's voice, his visiable eye turning into an upside-down 'u'. the figure standing beside him let out a deep sigh.

"Alright you punks. I am Morino Ibiki, and this is Hatake Kakashi. From this point on, we are your proctors for the first part of the Chunin Promotions Exam." His attire startled many of the genin in the room, as they all first saw him as one of the Insane Devils. "Before any of you smartasses dares to speak up, all the proctors of this year's exam are from Konohagakure only. There may be shinobi and ANBU from other villages but they are here strictly on a 'guard-duty' basis only. They will not have any impact on who passes or fails this exam at any point."

Kakashi coughed and took his turn. "Now, let's all get into the next room. As you come up to the doorway, be sure to have your completed registration form ready. At the doorway, you will exchange that form for a number, and then you will sit in the corresponding seat until we are ready to give the first part of the exam."

Ibiki saw no motions for a question, and proceeded to speak. "Now, get moving. There will only be a five minute time period for you to get your forms turned in and get your seat before we close the room and those not inside, will be held back for one year."

Thusly all the squads quietly made their way to the door, handed over their paperwork and received a number. By the time all the genin were seated, Naruto found himself sitting next Sasuke with Neji sitting in front of him. Hinata was sitting across the room with the one named Kimimaro sitting behind her, as Shikamaru found himself seated between the blonde kunoichi from Suna and the aisle between sections of desk.

Daisuke was relieved to find Ruri and Kazuma had been seated on either side of him somehow. He then noticed that the one called Gaara was sitting to the right of the guy in front of him and Kiba in front of Gaara. Sakura's pink hair stood out from the crowd as she sat down next to Tayuya, with Shino in the front right corner next to the remaining Suna genin. Ten-Ten sat in the back of the room as Lee sat two rows behind Shino.

All was quiet as Ibiki and Kakashi entered the room, stacks of papers and a jar of pens in each of their hands.

"For this first exam, you will all have to answer ten questions. You will get one hour to complete this exam." Ibiki held up a hand with papers in it. "These papers all hold nine of the ten questions, while you will be given the last question when the testing period has fifteen minutes left to go."

Kakashi waved his hand with papers in it all around the room, indicating the surrounding shinobi standing along the walls. "These chunin around the room will be monitoring your every movement. This is to eliminate those of you caught cheating. If you are caught cheating, you will lose two points off your score, where you originally start off with a perfect score of ten points. For every incorrect answer you receive, you lose one point. Two point deductions for getting caught at cheating. And," he looked at the genin with a dark gleam in his eye, "if you lose all ten points at any time in the exam, you are hereby removed from this exam and have to retake it next time around."

Ibiki handed out the papers and pens to one half of the class while Kakashi did the same for the other half. They returned to the front as they were done. The bigger man looked around one last time before he spoke next. "One last thing about the rules of this exam: if at any point, a member of your team loses all ten points, not only is that genin eliminated, the entire team is. So, be careful how you answer each question as enough wrong answer will get you all held back."

Just as some genin shot up, Kakashi looked at the clock tick the last bit into the next minute, and shouted. "BEGIN YOUR TEST NOW!"


	30. Pass or Fail, Time to Choose

(Itachi looks over the papers in front of him on the desk)

Itachi: Why is it that I'M grading the result of the exams again, Djinn?

**Because I felt like it.**

(The wanna-be weasel sighed and returned to the stacks of exam papers)

**While he deals with those papers, let me toss you guys reading this something. Ignore the 3 reviews from Diablo's Heir. He's just dealing with some shit at home and so he doesn't have the time to fully enjoy the work that I have produced.**

**One last thing before we get started with the 30****th**** chapter: this weekend, do not be surprised if there are no new chapters for Saturday or Sunday: Saturday I'm off to the District Caucus for my area about the next stage of delegation, and then I've got a birthday party for my little cousins to attend on Sunday. So I may or may not have time to put out a chapter this weekend, we'll see.**

(Itachi waves his weasel tail over the papers at the audience with his chakra)

Hope you guys enjoy today's installment of 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'!

* * *

Ibiki handed out the papers and pens to one half of the class while Kkashi did the same for the other half. They returned to the front as they were done. The bigger man looked around one last time before he spoke next. "One last thing about the rules of this exam: if at any point, a member of your team loses all ten points, not only is that genin eliminated, the entire team is. So, be careful how you answer each question as enough wrong answer will get you all held back."

Just as some genin shot up, Kakashi looked at the clock tick the last bit into the next minute, and shouted. "BEGIN YOUR TEST NOW!"

Not a moment passed before there was a mass of scratching going around the room, each genin in the room furiously looking at the questions and trying to answer those that they thought they knew. Several genin in the room had paled after taking the first look at the exam paper.

* * *

'How the FUCK do they expect us to actually _know_ this shit? We're only genin for crying out loud!' was the first thing Naruto thought, seeing the complex dynamics involved with the first question. 'What did I do to deserve this…' Naruto hung his head low, forgetting who he was seated next to.

Sasuke smirked broadly as he noticed the distress his 'brother' was exuding. 'Dobe, seems as though you still lack all the things that you did when you left the Academy. How pathetic.' Sasuke took a sidelong glance at his teammates and closed his eyes. With a smooth motion, he let out a loud _crick_ as he forced his neck to the side, the sound of the vertebrae popping rebounding off the obstacles in the room.

Without even moving to acknowledge the signal, Tayuya and Kimimaro each started to take sidelong glances around them before they started to make unnoticed one-handed signs. No one noticed the weird echoes that started to float around the room, bouncing off everything within the four walls.

* * *

Hinata could see from where she was sitting that her cousin Neji had for some reason started using the clan bloodline. 'What does Neji-nii-san think he's doing? Why is he using the Byakugan?' She looked in front of him, and saw something that caught her attention. 'Why is there a large genjutsu on that genin…' With a quick glimpse out the corner of her eyes, Hinata discretely activated her own Byakugan and looked once more at the genin her cousin was so intent on. 'I see…'

* * *

Each member of the Three Blind Nin had quickly used their unique reading techniques on the exam papers, and all three of them managed to remain emotionless after seeing the challenging questions. 'This sure is an interesting challenge,' was the common thought as they placed their hands over the papers again. Two of them focused their chakra without hesitation onto their papers, the third one quickly making a pair of seals. A moment later and if anyone had been looking under the desks, they would have seen a few snakes slither out and around to various parts of the room.

* * *

Shikamaru simply sighed as he saw that the blonde kunoichi beside him was simply leaning back in her chair, arms behind her head as she just ignored everything going on around them. 'Troublesome woman…' was all his mind came up as he placed his head on his desk and started to daydream.

* * *

'Good thing no one's made a big deal out of Akamaru,' Kiba thought, writing down the answers that his nin-ken partner was growling to him, almost so low that no one could hear the noises.

* * *

Sakura could only tell what was going on after one of the kikkai bugs Shino uses was moving around strangely on her desk. 'What is that thing doing here?' It took her a few moments until realization hit her harder than she used to smack Naruto before he had finally found that the bug was moving in a very distinct and routine pattern. 'Oh! It's so obvious now! Damn, being around Naruto-baka for so many years must have actually rubbed off on my fists when I'd smack him.'

* * *

Ten-Ten wiggled the pencil in her hand, keeping her eyes on the paper in front of her as the near-invisible chakra strings attached to her utensil moved some mirrors hanging from the ceiling until she could see the movement of Lee's hand. 'Good, he can see the reflections. I wonder why no one else saw the mirrors though…'

* * *

Gaara made a few hand signs as his chakra molded with some sand that he had accidentally 'leaked' on his way into the room, forming it into an eye that soon was hovering above his head and glancing every this way and that. 'Yes Mother, I will gladly give you all the blood you desire…'

* * *

'Man, these questions are fucked up, so much that I don't know even the answer to the first one!' Naruto screamed into his own head. 'I knew I should have done at _least _some kind of studying!' He raised his hands up to his head and clasped it, frustrated at his lack of forethought about the possibility of taking a written exam.

Sasuke smirked at the antics of the blonde sitting next to him, knowing all the while that his former comrade was totally unprepared for this sort of situation. 'Hn, seems the dobe still hasn't figured out the point of this exam. Well, it seems that if I plan to carry out my mission, I'm going to have to lower myself…'

Naruto was going to continue on with his mental self-bashing when he all of a sudden felt something slightly hit the edge of his elbow that was between him and Sasuke. He ignored it at first, thinking that the traitor was just trying to agitate him into an outburst. 'Gah, I wish Hinata-chan was here to keep me from flipping out! If Sasuke-teme doesn't quit it I'm about ready to punch him right here and now!'

Naruto sank his head onto the desk and was about to start banging his head very loudly against the desk until he felt a few more taps at his elbow. 'Might as well see what the teme is trying to do…' he thought to himself. H eraised his head slightly, adjusting his elbow out of the way just enough to find…

Sasuke's completed paper, laying haphazardly right next to him. Naruto almost jerked his head upwards and question the Uchiha, until he noticed a seal on the paper and a small note that was glowing blue.

'_Dobe- the point of the test is to cheat without getting caught, since you've failed to notice it already. We have things to talk about later, and you need to make it past this fucked up test so we can __chat. So, since there is only ten minutes before the last question goes out, I put up a small enough genjutsu that makes it look like we're acting normal while you quickly copy my answers. Don't argue and just do it. And don't thank me either._'

Naruto glanced around, not bothering to keep his motions unnoticed. His eyes scanned the room, looking at all the chunin standing against the walls. No one was apparently able to see anything that was going on between him and Sasuke, not even the Suna genin in the weird cat-suit that walked right past them with a chunin behind him. He quickly turned to Sasuke just in time to see the raven-haired boy scoff, moving his hand towards the paper.

Before Sasuke's hand could retrieve the paper, Naruto swiftly placed his hand on it and put it back onto his desk. He looked his former rival in the eyes as he took up his pencil and then turned to the blank paper in front of him. Sasuke just smirked and sat back, arms folded across his chest in victory. 'You owe me big time dobe. I won't soon forget this.'

'Can't argue with getting a free pass, even if it's from the pompous ass traitor,' Naruto thought to himself, quickly copying down the answer to the last visible question. He placed Sasuke's test back in front of him just as Ibiki glanced up at the clock and ticked off the seconds on his right hand.

Just as his last finger folded back into the closed fist, the genin from Suna that had the weird face paint on reentered the room with his chunin guard. 'Hah, suckers. They forgot to check the total number of examiners.'

"Did you enjoy your time in the lavatory, playing with your dolls?" came Kakashi's quick reply after the boy passed by the blonde kunoichi, slipping her a capsule unnoticeably.

He froze. 'Did they actually notice Crow? Oh shit this isn't gonna end well…' he thought to himself, sweating bullets as he looked forward at the two proctors.

"Get to your seat, you little Suna jerk-off. It's time for the final question," Ibiki said, getting everyone's attention back up at the front of the room. Everyone laid their pencils down whether or not they were done with the test, seeing that they didn't want to piss off the larger man. Each genin was nervous, despite their individual outward appearances.

"Now, before we proceed to administer the final question, there are a few additional rules that need to be put out in the open," Kakashi said, not raising his uncovered eye from his _Icha Icha Paradise_ erotica. "First, you have the choice to take this question or not before we give you the question itself. If you decide to not take the question, you and your two remaining teammates will be escorted out of the room, thus failing and will need to attempt the exams at another time."

Ibiki stepped forward and gathered their attention, many of the Konoha nin having face-faulted at seeing the famed Copycat Ninja performing his favorite pastime. "After the pathetic weaklings amongst you leave that refuse to even face this question, you all will then have no choice but to answer. There is only one right answer, but so many wrong answers to this question. And if any of you fail this last question, not only will you lose all the points you have for the test, but your teammates will also lose all their points as well, thus eliminating your whole team from the exams."

A collective gasp came from almost all the genin in the room. Only Sasuke's team, Neji, and Daisuke seemed somewhat normal regardless of the goings-on. That, however, was soon to be shattered by what the masked jonin revealed next.

"Oh, before we move on, I forgot to mention that if you answer this question wrong, not only do you and your teammates fail this exam, but all three of you will be forever kept as genin, ineligible to ever take up the challenge of the Chunin Promotion Exams again. Ever stuck doing the same low D-ranks over and over again, all the while getting passed up by everyone else," he said as casually as if it were just the most common thing in the world to discuss.

Several genin were about to jump up in protest, but were immediately shot down when Ibiki cast a large amount of killer intent around the room with his voice. "Now, this is your last chance to run with your tails between your legs and attempt this exam another time. Any of you panty-waists man enough to drop out now? If not, then sit down and shut the hell up while I give the last question."

Over the next minute, several of the remaining teams reluctantly raised their hands, and were escorted by various chunin from the room. From there, only the two teams from Oto, the one team from Suna, two other teams from Ankoku as well as Three Blind Nin, the three teams of the hosting Hidden Village, as several other teams from varying other foreign shinobi villages small and large. Ibiki carefully read the faces of each of the remaining genin. 'Seems that there is going to be a round of preliminaries going on before the finals of the exams this time around.'

Kakashi calmly put his book back into his supply pouch behind his back as he stood away from the front of the room and placed himself next to his fellow jonin. "Are there any last minute withdrawals from this part of the exam? Last chance."

Only one person made a move. His hand slowly crept up, getting shocked looks from all those that knew whose hand it was and that it was actually turning out like this. Before anyone was able to say a thing though, the hand that had been slowly crawling up instantly slammed down onto the desk in front of its owner, breaking the trance of all the genin in the room.

"If this last question is so damn hard, then I'll gladly put my dreams on the line. If I have to stay a genin forever in order to become Hokage, then so be it! You don't scare me, scar-face!" Naruto yelled, glaring at the staunch figure in black and blue at the front of the room. "I've come too far now to just give up like some pansy, and I'll be damned if I let someone like you push me aside!"

To say that most of the genin in the room were somewhat affected or put off by this display of brash attitude was putting it lightly. Many of the foreign ninja sitting at the desks looked at the blonde with raised eyebrows or smirks on their faces. To those that had at one point or another worked or just interacted with Naruto, there was a mix of shock, joy, and or pride running through their heads.

Ibiki and Kakashi looked at one another and glanced around the room one last time, both noting how the young rookie had snapped everyone out of the moment. Ibiki let out a loud laugh as he clapped his hands, thus bringing all their eyes back up front.

"It seems that some of you are much more disposed to be outgoing and rambunctious than keeping to the shadows, as a shinobi should be. But to each his own, as things have been for a long time."

Kakashi let out a soft chuckle of his own as he spoke next. "Now, to all of you that are still here, we only have one thing ot say to you. You all hereby have officially passed the first part of the Chunin Promotion Exams here in Konohagakure."

Most jaws amongst the gathered genin fell hard onto the desks in front of them, as two genin visibly shook when they suddenly felt something in the air drastically change. 'Oh no, it could'nt be…' was the thought running between their minds, not wanting to think about what was coming near them at an alarming rate.

Ibiki proceeded to divulge the purpose of the exam and how it was related to the necessary skills in covertly gathering information from the enemy without being caught, in the event you found out the information you already had was incomplete or incorrect. Kakashi then pointed out the two chunin that had been staged in the room as 'leaks' for them to locate and get the real answers from. Just as they were about to continue, there was a loud _crash_ from the single window in the room at the front as something flew in threw the hole.

'It can't be… Why of all people…'

'Oh for fuck's sake… This has just got to be some sick joke.'

From what came flying through the broken window there came a pair of kunai that embedded themselves into the ceiling slightly in front of the first proctors. The kunais were holding up the corners of a large banner that read something that was obscured by the woman that had apparently been inside the flying bundle the entire time.

Two loud _thuds_ could be heard as two genin simultaneously allowed their faces to get intimately acquainted with their desks upon seeing the woman in the front of the room.

Gone now were the old beige jacket, the burnt skirt, and the old shin guards from her sandals. The woman now wore a very long black trench coat, almost the length of the one that Ibiki was wearing. Her legs were now covered in black pantyhose, with a pair of black short-shorts barely keeping anything hidden as a pair of long black boots rose from her ankles to mid thigh. Her mesh top was still there, but now there was a very alluring black tank-top that looked as if it had been shredded from just below her bust line. The only parts of her hands that were visible outside the long sleeves of the trench coat were the tips of her fore, middle, and ring fingers as she stretched her arms out to her sides. Her hitai-ite proudly displayed on her forehead as always, keeping her purple hair up and out of the way.

"Alright you fucking maggots! I'm Mitarashi Anko, and welcome to the second part of the Chunin Exams!"

* * *

**Alright, I'm back everyone. Sorry about the long and troublesome wait, but I decided to take a bit off and do a lot o reading to refresh the supply of new and invigorating ideas coming.**

Itachi: Plus we were waiting to see if Chaos would happen to finally get chapter 19 for 'Raised in Darkness' up soon, but we apparently still have to wait on that one.

**Hey, get back to work on that project, you weasel! I need that machine ready soon, before the definitive point comes up!**

(Itachi saultes with huge wrench in hand and scurries under the large cloth that's covering up a mysteriously dark aura)

**Don't worry about the Wonder Weasel folks, he's just dealing with some last-minute adjustments to a project I've been working on since the inception of this story.**

**Now, about that story adoption contest I was in: I did not get the story itself, but I wil be creating something of a spinoff of 'Selfish', originally written by Bullwinkle's Lady, which is now in the hands of TallyintheGreen. But do not worry! I won't be pickup up the reins of any other story for as long as this story remains incomplete. I prefer to work one story at a time currently, so my full creative ability remains focused on just one storyline.**

**Two more things before we get back to work folks.**

_**Thanks to everyone that has answered my first question I put in here; especially to those that sent me a PM with the answer heh.**_

**Second, if there are any of you talented people reading this that have some time, I'd like to see about getting some pics of the characters in this story drawn up for visual reference. It would be mostly of the changed lead characters, from Naruto and Hinata to Sasuke and possibly Anko, as well as possibly concept art for a few of **_**my**_** OCs. If you feel up to it, again leave me a PM or email and I'll get back to you. Please also send a link with your work; no previous examples will get a polite declination, as I need to see the quality of work before we discuss anything further.**

**_NEW UPDATE!-_**

**A few weeks ago I received permission from tailedfox225 and halo2freak007 (now known as 'The Emerald Ingot') to adopt a story from each of them, as they lost their muse in the writing of the respective fics. The stories I picked up are 'One Mistake I DON'T Regret' from TF225 and from H2F007 it's 'Hyuuga Naruto'. So you guys can expect to see those back up on the listings of the NaruXHina search results within a week or so.**

**But keep in mind that I may indeed write for those stories, I'm going to try and keep everything new I write for them off the site until I get this story finished first.**

**Current status on NEXT CHAPTER: I'd say it's only one-fifth of the way done at best, because it is going to be a real doozy folks. Just keep your pants on, the long wait is going to be well worth the results...**

**Until I get the next chapter out, laters!**


	31. And There Goes the Canon

(Itachi's tail is seen flailing about from under the large canvas-covered object at the far side of the stage)

**Sorry that it's taken so long for this chapter folks, but real life takes precedence over all aspects of digital life, no matter how much I wish they wouldn't. Also an apology to Monkey Ninja Naf S'netog for having delayed his story 'A ****Village**** of ****Nobodies****' from being out.**

**The project that I've had Itachi completing is just about finished, so you won't have much longer to wait. So, here's the newest and highly anticipated 31st installment to 'Beyond the Darkness of Fate'!**

* * *

Gone now were the old beige jacket, the burnt skirt, and the old shin guards from her sandals. The woman now wore a very long black trench coat, almost the length of the one that Ibiki was wearing. Her legs were now covered in black pantyhose, with a pair of black short-shorts barely keeping anything hidden as a pair of long black boots rose from her ankles to mid thigh. Her mesh top was still there, but now there was a very alluring black tank-top that looked as if it had been shredded from just below her bust line. The only parts of her hands that were visible outside the long sleeves of the trench coat were the tips of her fore, middle, and ring fingers as she stretched her arms out to her sides. Her hitai-ite proudly displayed on her forehead as always, keeping her purple hair up and out of the way.

"Alright you fucking maggots! I'm Mitarashi Anko, and welcome to the second part of the Chunin Exams!"

Daisuke and Ten-Ten continued to slam their foreheads repeatedly upon the arrival of their former sensei, Mitarashi Anko. Both genin had the same thought coursing through their minds: 'What the hell did we do to deserve this fate?'

Anko smirked upon seeing her former students, and prepared a kunai in each hand before a pair of coughs brought her attention to the sides of her banner. "You have such bad timing, Anko," Kakashi commented offhandedly as he stepped from behind the banner, _Icha Icha Paradise_ novel in hand.

Ibiki stepped from the other side of Anko's banner as he sighed and closed his eyes. "At least she has a tendency for being premature instead of perpetually late, Kakashi."

"Hm? What did you say Ibiki?" Kakashi asked, not bothering to lift his gaze from his erotica.

"Knock it off both of you! I'm here and now these puny little bastards are all mine, and that's all that matters in the exam." Anko huffed her chest out a bit as she crossed her arms over her chest and sharply turned her face from the squabble that was going on behind her and gazed over the remaining genin teams.

She almost face-faulted at the vast amount of genin still sitting at the desks in the room. "Holy hell you two, you sure your test was tough enough? You let nearly thirty teams get through, it's just pathetic!"

"You forget how much talent there is in this group, _sensei_," came a curt reply from the crowd.

Anko cocked her right arm back and let the kunai in her hand fly as she flung it forward as her left arm simultaneously flung the kunai it held in a sideways motion, both kunais meeting metallic resistance. Some of the genin around the two targets scooted back upon seeing the kunai fly, while some had raised eyebrows.

Daisuke picked up the kunai his former sensei had flung at him off the floor, putting his tonfa away. Ten-Ten took the kunai from the hole in the middle of her shuriken and started to twirl it from a finger, whistling nonchalantly.

"Well if it isn't Tasty-kun and Panda-chan!" the purple-haired jonin said, smirking evilly at seeing her only students.

A cough brought Anko back to the purpose of her being in the room presently. "Get to work, you lazy-" one of the more irritable genin in the room started.

"I wouldn't finish that sentence, you fucked-face cocksucker!" came a sharp response from the redhead from Oto, Tayuya. "I may not like the goddamned Leaf nin, but I won't tolerate womanizing, you hear me you shit-eating louse?" She emphasized the statement by stepping one foot on her desk as she pulled a kunai from a hidden pouch under her shirt and aimed it at the offending loudmouth.

"Silence, all of you!" Anko commanded, casting a death glare all around the room. "Save your piss-fits for the next exam. Now get up and follow the chunin examiners to the site of the next exam. NOW!" Before anyone could say a thing, she disappeared in a cloud of dust and leaves.

* * *

Most of the remaining genin made the wise choice as they silently left the room and left the building, following the quiet chunin examiners to the outer reaches of the village.

Naruto and his team were among the first out of the room, deciding to meet up outside the building instead of crowding up the room of the written exam. Naruto himself was amongst the first to leave, despite the discrete attempt Sasuke had made to inadvertently get his attention.

The blonde was silently waiting outside the main door to the building as the teams vacated, easily spotting Hinata amongst the middle of the group. Her eyes shone like pearls as she noticed his red shirt at the side of the crowd. She rushed past the other teams and tackle-glomped him, causing him to fall on his ass with her on top of him.

"Good thing you didn't manage to attract _too_ much attention," came the voice of their third team member. Shikamaru shook his head as he stepped up beside the pair, disregarding how Hinata was slightly rubbing her head against Naruto's chest.

"C'mon Hina-chan, we gotta get to the next exam spot before we get kicked out or something," Naruto said, trying to get up.

The Hyuuga heiress pouted as she slowly got out of Naruto's lap. "Meanie-kun…"

Naruto scratched the back of his head with his response. "Sorry about that Hina-chan, but you know I'd not be like this if things weren't so important right now, what with us being on the path to becoming chunin."

"Fine Naruto-kun, but after the exams are o-over, you owe me. Big time." The young kunoichi latched onto his arm and emphasized the last comment by firmly pressing her chest against his upper arm and rubbing against it slightly. She smirked inwardly as she noticed the deep shudder reverberate up his spine and through his arms. 'Looks like those strange books with the orange covers really _do_ have some useful information in them…' she thought to herself as they followed the directions of the chunin to the next location.

* * *

Sasuke glanced out of the corners out of his eyes first at his teammates, then at a couple other teams that had survived the first exam. 'Seems like those filthy barbarians are smart enough to pass a simple written exam. Now we get to see how they fare in the survival and tracking exam…'

"Someone catch your eye, Sasuke?" came the low voice of Kimimaro, behind and to the left of the last Uchiha. "Or merely scoping out the remaining competition?"

"Tch, like any of these losers are worth our real effort. Not even Kin and those freaks she has for teammates are up to our level."

"Don't be so sure, Sasuke-_kun_," came the voice from behind and to the right from his team's kunoichi, "some of these genin may just be as powerful as our information says."

Sasuke turned his head sharply and glared at the redhead behind him. "And you think that any of these fucking retards are truly worth _my_ time? Pray tell, Tayuya-_chan_, just whom do you think could possibly best me in a fight?" Venom dripped from his words as they flowed forth from his mouth.

"Well there are a few of those bastards from that damned western village, and then there's also the possibility that the jinchuurikis from both this shit hole and that one in Wind Country are up to us," came Tayuya's response, just as venomous as the question.

"Hn."

Tayuya was on the verge of pulling out something from the confines of her hidden pouches just as Kimimaro grabbed both of his teammates by the sleeves. "Come now you two, we have much more important matters to tend to at the present. Let us be off now before we get disqualified."

* * *

Anko had arrived mere seconds at the booth in front of the first gate to the location of the second exam after giving her orders. None of the genin had arrived yet, and most of the chunin examiners were getting to their assigned gates. She was laying back on top of the booth, eyes closed as her senses watched for the first sign of her responsibility as something caught her attention.

"Well well well, if it isn't my _star_ pupil, kukukukukuku."

Her eyes shot open as her body moved at a speed that any normal person would think impossible. The Tokubetsu jonin sprung off the roof of the booth into the air, spotting the one that the voice belonged to. "Orochimaru-teme!" she screamed, her hands flashing through one-handed signs unnoticed in the long sleeves of her new trench coat.

"I see you've been doing well for yourself, Anko-_chan_. I didn't believe the rumors about you having actually taken on a couple of students at first, but then I saw the display of your _affections_ to two peculiar genin upon your entrance into the room of the first exam." The legendary sennin pulled the cover off his face hanging from his Otogakure headband. His golden slit eyes contrasted his pale skin, the purple lines under his eyes reminiscent of mascara. "I must admit though, hearing that you had found someone to share a bed with was almost as surprising as when I found out you had taught a genin from Ankokugakure, before the fools on the Village Council made the demands of each village must instruct their own shinobi and prohibited further instruction of Konoha jonin to the wretched students from that damn western village."

"You leave Amanda-chan out of this, you cold-hearted teme!" Anko exclaimed, her hands having just ended the long series of signs within the confines of her sleeves. She managed to just barely keep herself from smirking as three poofs of smoke appeared around the man before her. "And you sure as hell won't get your hands on my students!" she continued, the large snake summons lunging at the Konoha traitor.

Upon impact with the individual between them, the snakes all disappeared into smoke just as they had emerged as the 'man' erupted into shards of jagged earth. "Explosive Earth Dummy Jutsu?" Anko whispered. Her shock slowed her reaction time so much that she was unaware of Orochimaru's presence behind her until she felt his tongue slither around her neck a few times and up into her ear. The violet-haired woman would have just as swiftly turned and knocked him away had he not bound her simultaneously with several snakes from the sleeves of his shirt.

"There were many a time where I had fantasized about you, Anko-chan." His words were chilling her to the bone, but not in the way he desired. "Though, during each one of our _escapades_, you were more… equipped."

Anko struggled against the binding snakes, thankful that he had at least retracted his tongue from her ear but still wishing she could breathe. "Seems… the rumors… about… you being… a fucking… fanny-bandit were true." Her words came out in short whispers as fluidly as she could, despite the crushing pressure. "And now, it… looks like you've… got yourself a wide… assortment… of fancy… cock-puppets!"

Orochimaru sneered in hatred, despising the fact that his former student was talking back to him and not bowing before him and submitting like he hoped she would have. He was about to have the snakes binding her constrict her body to the point of breaking her ribcage and thusly killing her instantly from several punctured internal organs, but just as he was about to make the hand sign, when suddenly-

"I wouldn't doubt it if he had already turned that Uchiha bastard into his latest cock-sucking slave already," came a new voice from out of nowhere. The Snake-Sennin's eyes darted left and right, not daring to turn his head in the event that the owner of the voice appear when he has his gaze averted. A moment later and his patience was rewarded with the visage of a man dressed in black, blue piercing eyes, and black hair tied back out of the way.

"So, the famous Sandaime Yamikage, Jack Socrie, has decided to show his face this early in the game? How enjoyable it will be when I sacrifice you to Manda when I give the signal to commence my invasion of this pathetic village!" Orochimaru snarled, his attention no longer completely on his former student.

"You will have a hard time doing anything of the sort once I remove you from this life, Orochimaru!" The Yamikage pulled out his rapier, holding it out in front with his right hand as his left reached back behind him and up as ballast. "I will make sure that the last thing you see is the face of your sensei as he buries his kunai in your head. Now release Mitarashi!"

The pale man sneered, unraveling his tongue from its grasp at Anko's throat. "Just because you are the leader of Ankoku does not mean you are capable of taking on someone of my stature, you foolish man." As Orochimaru spoke, the snakes retreated from around Anko's body and back into his sleeves, but not before several of the more peculiar ones each bit her on the abdomen. "Shame my snakes were unable to even get through that chakra-enhanced material her coat is made from, but that just means I won't get to enjoy watching her endure the poison of those black mambas for quite as long!"

His last statement was concluded when his hand took Anko by the scruff of the neck and attempted to use her as a distraction. Pulling his arm back, he hurled the woman's now limp body directly at Jack in the hopes that he would drop his weapon and go to catch her. His plan was about to work until, out of the corner of his eye as he was almost turned around, several kunai came out of nowhere and flew into the flack material of Anko's coat. The amount of force used to throw the kunai was so great that each weapon was still going strong in its original direction and thusly implanted their tips, through the heavy material, into the trunk of a tree several yards away from Jack and out of harm's way.

"Seems like we got here just in time, eh Jack?" came Kommando's voice. He ran from the southern forest edge and stopped a foot from his superior, slight beads of sweat forming on his brow.

Jack didn't remove his gaze from the treacherous man a few yards in front of him as he responded. "Good to see you were able to get here when you did, Kommando. I take it you didn't get word about this 'meeting' until just a moment ago?"

Kommando reached into his coat and armed himself with kunai and shuriken as he faced the Snake-Sennin. "That's not why I'm late: I just had to go get a few people for this 'shin-dig', and I had to head across town to get all of them."

"Anko-chan!" screamed Amanda as she flew between the three men to the tree. She immediately removed the kunai that were keeping up the snake-user and caught her before her body could hit the floor. "Oh Anko-chan…" she whispered softly, putting her forehead gently against Anko's.

Before anyone had time to say or do anything else, there was yet another distraction as a large poof of smoke appeared between Amanda and Anko and the other three men.

"I'd say she needs medical attention and fast, wouldn't you say, Sarutobi-sensei?" came the voice from the larger figure within the smoke.

"Yes, I do believe she will not make it more than an hour if her blood is not cleansed properly. Black mambas are amongst the most poisonous snakes in the known world," came the voice from the smaller figure.

Amanda turned her ice-blues eyes towards Orochimaru and was hell-bent on charging him. She moved to draw her katana as Jack boomed in a commanding voice, "Amanda, get her to the hospital. Tsunade should be in the village soon."

'That flat-chest is here now too? This is certainly going to be much harder to accomplish than I had anticipated! No matter, I'll just use her greatest weakness against her.'

"Yes, Yamikage-sama." Amanda hoisted the limp form of her lover over her shoulder, and took one last glimpse at the legendary missing-nin as she took her leave. Each of the remaining shinobi kept their eyes locked on their opposition for the next few moments.

As the wind picked up the smoke cleared and gave everyone a good view of the two new people entering the fray.

There stood Jiraiya in his constant attire, just without the enormous scroll strapped to his back. The man standing next to him was the Sandaime Hokage, but instead of the formal robes and headwear of his political office there was the old-fashioned shinobi battle armor, complete with helmet.

Orochimaru was unable to hold himself from flinching at seeing one of his former teammates as well as his old jonin instructor appear before him. 'If the four of them work together, this could ruin all my precious plans! I have to get this to work in my favor somehow…'

"I take it that you've come to acquire your revenge against this village?" asked Sarutobi. His eyes were fixated on his once-great pupil. After not getting a response, he moved onto his next question. "Or is it that you've found your latest project isn't working out as you had hoped?"

Orochimaru smirked evilly as he leaned back and motioned his hands with each word. "While it is true that I am here to reap the just desserts that this village deserves after denying the power I deserve, there is indeed something else here within these walls that I require."

"Then it seems that the Uchiha has yet to awaken his latent Sharingan still. I see…" Sarutobi closed his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I guess it's a good thing that our ANBU were very thorough in the search of the Uchiha compound upon the alert of Sasuke's disappearance."

Orochimaru kept his eyes fixed on the four shinobi before him, knowing that any one of them could easily come at him and break his attention from the others to give them ample time to attack him from other sides. 'I might as well see what the old fool has discovered… Afterwards, I'll just compensate for this turn of events by upping the start of the invasion.' "And what, pray tell, did your little ANBU Black Ops find, Sarutobi-_sensei_?"

The old man in the battle gear chuckled as he opened his eyes again and refocused his attention upon the traitor before him. "When our forces were searching the abandoned Uchiha District after Sasuke was reported missing, we found a tunnel hidden underneath the Uchiha clan head's house. At the end of the tunnel lay a very old and dusty room, with multitudes of scrolls concerning the almost-extinct clan."

Orochimaru couldn't help but be intrigued. "And what did these scrolls contain? Some dark family secret, a few measly jutsus the clan thought were their birth right I presume?" His infatuation with jutsus did not make him a picky man concerning his appetite for increasing his arsenal, but he did have a standard about exactly what level of a jutsu he'd bother to steal.

"I might as well tell you this much, since I have already destroyed all of them." These words frustrated Orochimaru. He may have just lost some very interesting materials, due to his own lack of forethought into having Kabuto search the premises before Sasuke's disappearance became popular knowledge. "The scrolls that were discovered were a complete listing of the family, from the very founder back during the time of the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages, Uchiha Madara, all the way down to Sasuke and his older brother Itachi. One scroll contained all of the family jutsus though they were mostly low level in comparison to what is taught now by the jonin instructors."

"Then it seems that what you found was utterly useless to even your own village, old man." Orochimaru squinted his eyes, noticing movement in the trees far behind them. 'Blast! I have let them take up too much time, and now the genin teams and the chunin examiners are getting closer! I must hurry this up or all is forfeit!'

Sarutobi glared at his former student, growling in response. "But there was a pair of scrolls that you would have dearly wanted, my former student!"

The eyes of the snake-nin shot open before he recomposed himself. This signaled his demand for further information before his impatience got the better of him. Jack and Kommando kept their weapons at the ready, having noticed the unfamiliar movements in the area, with Jiraiya listening intently as well to his sensei.

"The pair of scrolls that were most disturbing were concerning the clan's bloodline limit, the Sharingan. The first one was about the normal version, the one that most active ninja of the clan had. It went over the normal abilities and powers that it could perform. But the second scroll was written as a description and manual for the second form of the bloodline limit, the Mangekyou Sharingan," the old man said, his voice tensing as he uttered the words. "Apparently there is a second level to the Uchiha kekkei genkai, with much greater powers, powers that were reported as acts that were perpetrated by one Uchiha Itachi since his defection from our village years ago, after killing almost the entire clan."

"Though they are different levels of power, they have similar _requirements_ in order to activate them," he said carefully, noting the increasing presence around them. "Each level can only be obtained through extreme emotional and psychological duress, enough so that the user must witness the death of someone they would consider more than family."

Orochimaru frowned. "But then why didn't Sasuke-kun activate his Sharingan as he witnessed Itachi killing his mother? Surely that would have been enough of a traumatic force to drive him over the edge!"

"Fool!" the old man yelled, spitting as he bared his teeth. "I told you _someone they would consider more than family_! Merely watching a family member die isn't enough, otherwise the entire clan would have been walking around with their bloodline active. No, it needed to be someone that they would give everything they had in order to protect. While the first level requires that you only witness the death of someone very _very _dear to you, the Mangekyou has a much more drastic price…"

"And what would that be, dear _sensei_, hmm? Perhaps I can yet arrange for my dear Sasuke-kun to awaken his kekkei genkai after all."

Sarutobi started to work through a long series of hand signs as he answered this last question. "The second level of the Uchiha bloodline limit required that you _kill_ your best friend in order to awaken it. You would need to perform the killing blow with your own hand and watch them breathe their last breath because of your own actions."

This obviously shook Jiraiya to the core as he visibly shivered at the thought. Jack and Kommando were barely able to keep from doing the same, but the attention of all the unseen eyes around them were keeping them alert enough to monitor their own physical and mental reactions.

Orochimaru himself was outwardly unfazed by this turn of events. "So that's why very few of the clan ever developed the Mangekyou; due to their high level of elitist thinking and their despondency to those around them, they naturally will turn off their emotions, thusly preventing them from creating such ties as friendship that they could in turn utilize to gain further power… I see, so that's why they were never able to overthrow the Council and any of the Hokages, they were too weak!"

The Sandaime finished his series of hand signs, looking gravely upon his once-great protégé. 'I wish you had not been so power hungry, my student. I would have selected you but your experiments and unquenchable thirst for power were too much to let you be the Hokage when I had first retired.' "Yes, as you just concluded, the very ethics they imposed upon themselves to make themselves the 'strongest' clan in this village seems to have rather made them far weaker than they sought to become. But now that there are no other living members of the clan outside the two brothers Itachi and Sasuke, I will not allow for the clan to continue in this village, or any other."

"Kukukukukuku, just because you destroyed everything about the clan doesn't mean that it will die out, Sarutobi-sensei. Now that I know what has been going wrong, I can now proceed with my plans. Now, I can even create more like Sasuke!" Orochimaru started doing one-handed signs of his own, recognizing the ones his old instructor having just finished. 'If he performs that jutsu, then everything will be out of control for the plans.'

"But you forget, Orochimaru! Itachi _let_ Sasuke live this entire time. I have heard Sasuke himself say what Itachi's last words were before his departure. Itachi told him that he needed to grow hateful of everything around him, and turn his raw and unbridled hatred into power. That hatred and conviction, he said, were the only thing that Sasuke said would be able to give him the power to defeat his brother and avenge his clan. So naturally, Sasuke turned away all those that sought to use him as breeding stock and focused _entirely_ on getting stronger in order to defeat his brother Itachi." Sarutobi looked out of the corner of his eye and gave a discrete signal to Jiraiya. "Meanwhile, Itachi has become nothing more than a very powerful S-class missing-nin, allying himself within the ranks of an organization that I'm very sure you were once a part of."

"Yes, that Uchiha took my spot within Akatsuki shortly after I had heard of his 'handiwork'," the pale figure admitted, his voice dripping with venom. Itachi had defeated him quite easily when he had first joined Akatsuki, their leader deeming the Uchiha more worthy than him to be a front-line man for the organization. That was when Orochimaru had been forced from the top ranks and took his leave, forfeiting any rights to ally himself with the other missing-nin and all their glory. "To think that he was able to defeat me within moments was quite a surprise, but now that you have informed me of the true nature of his power, I can easily understand exactly how he did it."

Sarutobi brought his hand up to his mouth and bit hard down on his thumb, making a trail of blood run down onto his palm. "Indeed. Thus within Akatsuki, Itachi merely focuses now on the grand designs of whatever their leader wants, and has not made a move to revive the clan that he should have completely annihilated years ago."

While the former student and teacher were having their talk, Jiraiya slowly eased back and to the side, motioning to the powerful Darkness shinobi to move away. Jack and Kommando cautiously moved back, carefully and not letting their guard down as they came closer to the unknown presences all around them.

"So, as long as Itachi and Sasuke remain focused on becoming stronger then neither of them won't bother with reviving their clan," Orochimaru suggested. Upon seeing 'The Professor' nod simply, he snickered. "Then I guess that I will have to 'persuade' Sasuke-kun that reviving his clan with give him the power he needs to avenge those his brother killed, won't I?"

With that last comment, Orochimaru flashed through the last hand signs. Before anyone could react, the snake-master raised his arms up and pointed his hands to the sky. "Now that I have found out what it is I need to do in order to awaken Sasuke-kun's kekkei genkai, there is nothing holding back my invasion. So now watch, watch as my plans and dreams come to fruition!" His hands were glowing now as he spoke. "Watch as I decimate this pathetic village with the very jutsus I've _acquired_ from it!"

With that last word, the upraised hands of the Snake Sennin launched twin spouts of chakra into the air, bellowing outward in cones far into the sky. After a couple moments, the cones of chakra broadened out and released sparks and flares into the sky.

All was silent for the next several moments, none of the shinobi in the clearing daring to move or blink lest they miss what would happen next. Orochimaru's face had a look akin to that of a child seeing a large pile of presents sitting in front of him at his birthday party as he watched his plans commence.

* * *

Kimimaro looked up at the sky as he saw the signal. "It would seem that an event has caused Orochimaru-sama to hasten the invasion."

Tayuya growled in frustration. "Those bastard Leaf shinobi must've fucking found out about this somehow!"

"Great, now we have to go and deal with all the pathetic genin while they're still at full strength," Sasuke said, covering his face with his palm.

"We might as well go ahead with our assignments, given that the fucking festivities have already started!" Tayuya said, twirling out a flute from a pocket underneath her shirt. "So whose the first group of pussies we gotta take out?"

Kimimaro looked around, seeing the appearance of several snakes standing several hundreds of feet tall in the distance. The cries of war were beginning to fill the air as shinobi from Otogakure and Sunagakure emerged from their hidden caravans outside the village walls. Pockets of implanted Oto nin placed months ago pulled away their facades and embraced the throes of battle, overpowering the civilians around them. "If I remember correctly, our orders are to first eliminate the most imposing of the other genin, that being the teams from Konoha and Ankoku."

Sasuke smirked as he looked around. The chunin examiners had give up their positions as exam monitors upon sight of the first armed enemy. The genin teams they could see around were all greatly freaked out. None of them were expecting to be caught in the middle of an invasion while taking the exams. The teams from Iwa and Ame quickly found themselves under attack by the team from Suna, the one in the black one-piece manipulating a puppet as his kunoichi teammate was using her fan to cut down the chunin that were trying to get in to disable the redhead as he stood stock-still in a jutsu pose. "Looks like the Sand Siblings are going to take care of the remaining teams as planned. Let's just get this over with and contain the genin from our targeted villages."

Kimimaro and Tayuya nodded without saying a word as they followed Sasuke back towards the Academy, having been amongst the first to leave and needing to backtrack to their prey. Sasuke had a gleam in his eyes as he came across the first team from Ankoku. "Time for a bit of revenge…"

* * *

Naruto and Hinata ducked kunai and shuriken from a pair of Oto shinobi that had been posing as chunin examiners. Shikamaru was standing back and watching their movements, keeping his eyes open for the addition of any more enemies that popped up while his teammates took on their first round opponents.

"Man, what the hell's going on here?" Naruto asked, throwing a kunai at his target as Hinata used a chakra-coated palm to block a kunai from hers. "First we're on our way from the Academy to the next place for the second exam and now there's a weird pair of cone things in the sky. Then all of a sudden, these Sound jerk-offs show their true faces and start attacking us!"

"What's going on here doesn't matter to you, you little blonde rat!" yelled his opponent, flashing through several hand signs. "Sound of the Tormented Jutsu!" he called out, his voice causing a distortion to appear in front of him that made its way quickly to Naruto.

The blonde stood there as the invisible attack hit his head straight on. He was surprised when nothing happened to him at first, but then his head started to feel as if someone was using it as an anvil to create kunai on. "W-what the hell was that attack y-you just used?" he managed to spit out, his hands clutching his head as he slumped to one knee.

"**It seems that the shinobi of this new Sound village truly utilize sound as their signature style for ninjutsu Kit. Be careful, for they may also have figured out how to use it in tandem with taijutsu.**"Kyuubi was unable to hide her discomfort from the resounding attack of the enemy, but Naruto had other things to deal with as his opponent came flying at him.

The Oto nin that was facing off against Hinata was finding it rather irritating that none of his kunai were penetrating through her hands, his untrained eyes lacking the skill to see that her chakra coating them in a shield. "Stupid bitch! Why won't you just die?"

Instead of giving an audible response, the petite Hyuuga heiress dove past her opponent's outstretched arms, swift jabs shutting down every tenketsu on the front of his abdomen. He coughed once as his arms fell limply at his sides; his mouth dribbled a bit of blood as his eyes rolled back into his head, his failing body slumping forward.

Shikamaru found himself running through hand signs as the figure of the third Oto nin emerged right behind Hinata. It had come out of no place that he could have seen just now, but all he could focus on was the large dripping kunai the enemy had poised for her lungs. "Run Hinata!" he yelled as the series of signs concluded.

The pale-eyed kunoichi found herself face-down in the dirt as her teammate pushed her out of the way, having used a shadow-walking jutsu to place himself in between the new arrival andd his first target. Her face was splattered with blood as the two kunai found themselves lodged just below Shikamaru's lungs, their tips emerging through the front of his abdomen.

Naruto watched in horror as his teammate took the blows meant for his Hinata-chan. Emotions started to rise when the man tossed Shikamaru aside and out of his path to the young kunoichi. He was about to sidestep his current opponent before he found himself wrapped up in something.

"Don't expect to be interfering with him; he has orders to take her, dead or alive, back to Kumo for her eyes."

Naruto struggled against what he found to be the elastic appendages of his adversary as he saw the man reach down with one hand and pull Hinata's head off the ground and poise the kunai of his other hand to gouge her eyes out. That was the straw that broke him.

* * *

Deep within the depths of his inner chakra network, Naruto's 'occupant' had been observing the entire ordeal. She knew that she could do so much to help but with the way the Yondaime had designed her prison, Naruto had to initiate the reaction. She was about to remind him of that when she felt a terrible tugging at her power.

She turned around to face the force that was behind the force and saw a feral-looking Naruto. His eyes had narrowed and developed into red orbs with slits; his canine teeth had become gruesomely large and were jutting out of his mouth while his ears had shifted from the sides to the top of his head, elongating and rearing back. The marks that adorned his cheeks had thickened greatly while taking on a jagged and darkened form.

Kyuubi then noticed the two tails forming from where a normal human's spinal column ended. _'So he is now reaching the next stage? Very soon things are going to change if he is having to continue tapping my chakra…'_ she thought morosely as she opened the connection to her container. **"You may use my chakra as you need to, otouto; but keep in mind that we must speak after this is all over."**

"As long as I can protect Hinata, I'll do ANYTHING! JUST GIVE ME THE STRENGTH I NEED!" Naruto roared out. The nails on his fingers started to grow out and thicken as they curved downward into claws, his body assuming an animalistic posture. Kyuubi shivered somewhat when she felt the chakra he was pulling cause him to form a third tail, but she knew that in the end it was all she could do at the moment to help.

* * *

The Sound ninja that had been restraining the blonde Leaf brat found it impossible to hold him any longer when there was a sudden explosion burst of chakra from the boy. He let go of him as he sprouted three red tails of chakra nearly out his ass. "What the fuck?"

Naruto dropped to all fours after being released. His body had undergone the same changes as what Kyuubi had seen in his Inner Sanctum, but his hair had grown to nearly reach his belt, with streaks of black and red from roots to tips.

**"Get the fuck away from my _Hime_!"**

The enemy ninja that was about to remove Hinata's eyes via kunai extraction soon found himself knocked several feet away and face to face with his fellow Oto shinobi. Except that something felt out of place. That's when he took a closer look.

It wasn't the girl he had been poised to blind with his kunai now tending to her teammate whom he stabbed, or the strange looking blonde that his teammate was supposed to have occupied, or even the corpse of his other teammate that the kunoichi had killed.

It was the fact that in his lap was merely the face of his other teammate, nothing else.

**"If you don't leave now, you'll be in a worse position than your teammate there,"** Naruto growled, his tails waving behind them as each one was gripping a tattered limb: the longest one held a full leg as one held an arm, the last one hold the other leg from the knee down. The remainder of the enemy's body was laying behind him, blood oozing now from the open wounds with the majority having spurted out after the face had been sliced off and the full leg torn savagely free.

The ninja stood up swiftly, the face falling indignantly too the ground at his feet. "Don't think that just because you've grown some freakish tails and killed my pathetic teammate that you'll be able to beat me!" he said, pulling out his sheathed kunai.

**"Bring it, fuck-face!"** he challenged. His arms tensed as he lowered his abdomen closer to the ground, gathering chakra slowly into his legs as he awaited his opponent to charge. The jailor didn't have long to wait as the taller ninja lepat at him with kunai poised to embed themselves into his shoulders.

* * *

Hinata was examining Shikamaru after Naruto had removed her captor from looming overhead. _'He needs medical attention fast, but there's no medic-nins around and I don't think it's safe for us to try and get to the hospital alone…'_

**'Fear not Childe, his life will not be forfeit so soon; there is help soon to arrive…'** Hinata heard in her head. Before she could question herself, she found her and Shikamaru being picked up and placed on the back of a very large creature. **'Don't speak Childe, just be quiet and keep your ally calm as you can. We have far to go before we can attend to his wounds in safety.'** The voice was soothing to the kunoichi, enough so that she failed to register that she had slumped forward onto the neck of the animal carrying her.

* * *

Naruto paid no attention to the large animal that was now carrying off his teammates; all he was focused on right now was the opponent before him, wielding very large kunai in each hand dripping with a thin substance.

"I'll get a huge reward for bringing you down, demon!" he exclaimed, gripping his weapons tighter.

**"Talk is cheap while actions speak louder than words!"** the blonde rtorted, his body sensing automatically the change in blood pressure just before the Sound nin leaped from his position towards him. With precision, Naruto slightly moved to the side as he made his own lunge in retaliation, his tails forming hooked claws in the path of the enemy as the claws on his left hand slashed at the enemy in the same move.

Both ninjas landed at the same time, and time seemed to stop as they stood stock still.

That is, until the shinobi from Otogakure fell into a bloody heap of five long sections of human deli meat.

Naruto gave no mind to his former target as he smelled the scent of someone he had once known. He sniffed the air for a moment before turning to his right, his body tesning even harder than his last face off.

"So it sems that Orochimaru was telling the truth in that you really _are_ the reincarnation of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, eh dobe?" came the voice of one renegade Uchiha Sasuke, emerging from the depths of the fighting going on all around them in the village he had once called 'home'.

**"Sasuke-teme…"**


	32. Hi Ho, Byakko! Save Naruto!

(Itachi dances his patented 'Happy Weasel Dance' as he tosses the empty Canon-Cannon cartridge into the 'refill later' pile)

Itachi: WOOHOOOOO IT WORKS!

**Damn straight it did! Good work, Itachi! With you doing the work to make my designs a reality, it was only a matter of time to get the Canon-Cannon up and running.**

**Now to address a couple of things that were brought up in the reviews. **

**About the timing of the invasion: I had Orochimaru take a page out of Monty Python and had him behave like the Spanish Inquisition. Because NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQISUITION! Plus it should have been a dead-giveaway that **_**something**_** was going to happen if you spotted 'canon' in the name of chapter 31, canon being the original plot or way of things and cannon being the heavy-artillery munition launcher.**

**And concerning the information that Sarutobi gave to his prized student? You'll just have to find out exactly what is going to happen in regards to that, now won't you? Just because you can't see the method to my chaos doesn't mean I'm going to spill the beans **_**this **_**soon in the game…**

**Before we get to this new chapter, I just want to say thank you to those of you that have stuck through from the start, added me/my work to your favorites and/or alerts, reviewed the works as it's progressed, and in general given me over 25k hits to date.**

(Itachi continues to dance as he says the final words)

Itachi: Now that all that is out of the way, let's get on with today's new chapter of 'Beyond the Darkenss of Fate'!

* * *

"So it seems that Orochimaru was telling the truth in that you really _are_ the reincarnation of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, eh dobe?"came the voice of one renegade Uchiha Sasuke as he emerged from the depths of the fighting going on all around them within the confines of the village he had once called home.

"**Sasuke-teme…"** Naruto growled, his eyes narrowing as his tails tossed back and forth.

Sasuke spat a seed at the 'front legs' of his opponent. "Too bad everything that you can do is nothing compared to what I've obtained since I joined Oto. You'll be a mere footnote on my path to killing my brother!"

The blonde merely growled deep from his chest as he gathered the chakra into his hind legs. **"Why'd you leave the village Sasuke? Why!?"** he demanded, the energy beginning to override his sense. 'Have to find out... why he left, before… Kyuubi-nee-chan's chakra… overwhelms me.'

Sasuke folded his arms in front of him as he stared at Naruto. "Simple: I left because of those damn barbarians from the west." When he got only a cold glare in response, he sighed as he shook his head. "If it weren't for those demon-spawn westerners having been in our village, I wouldn't have had to deal with being sent back to the Academy. If we had an even amount of genin compared to the number of jonin instructors, then I wouldn't have been stuck with such panty-waist teammates under a pathetic and lame jonin."

"**Just because the Hokage wanted to better our ties to other villages doesn't mean it was to purposely screw with you!"** Naruto held back the pain he was feeling from the intense chakra threatening to burn his skin; he knew that his limit was almost reached. 'Come on… only a few more moments…'

Sasuke focused his gaze once more on his former comrade as he retorted. "Well, even if that's true, nothing matters now. I've joined Otogakure, and in return for my loyalty, Orochimaru will gladly help me attain the power I _crave_. Enough power to kill Itachi, and then he'll help me destroy each of the western villages." He could see what appeared to be smoke start to rise from Naruto, and then he saw something truly strange.

The tails that had erupted from the end of the blonde's tail bone abruptly burst into flames and started to surge backwards towards his body.

* * *

Orochimaru dodged the shards of earth Sarutobi was shooting at him, trying to get his own attacks past the barrage of intervening jutsus from Jiraiya. "Blasted fools! Do you really think you can stop my invasion? The Leaf village has grown soft and pathetic since I've been gone!" he yelled, his hands flashing through hand signs.

Before either the Hokage or the Toad Hermit could respond, the earth between them and the Snake Sennin exploded as several large snakes launched at them. "Orochimaru! Why are you doing this?" demanded his former sensei while flinging shuriken to divert the incoming creatures. "I prevented the village council from sending ANBU after you when you defected! I've done my best to keep the village from interfering with your plans, and this is how you repay me?"

Jiraiya sent a spear of earth towards his old teammate and followed it up with a blast of fire, thus causing it to turn the earth into hardened iron. Orochimaru narrowly dodged the attack before it would have sunk into his right lung with a substitution for a nearby log. "My my my! You certainly have picked up a few new tricks since your beloved student sealed the fate of this village! I never imagined you to have gotten past the Yondaime's greatest folly!"

The large ninja scowled. "You leave Minato out of this! He did what he had to in order to save this village from the nine-tailed fox!"

"Kukuku… What he did was foolish, sealing the demon into his own son. There were better options than containment!" Orochimaru dodged a large mass of mud from Sarutobi. "Imagine what this village could have done if that fool had captured it and turned it to his favor!" The pale-faced man rushed past more globs of mud and blasts of fire from his two opponents and started close-quarters combat with the old man he once called his sensei.

"Do you really think that Minato would have put the village at risk by trying to turn the demon into a weapon? Our village would have become no better than Suna!" The Hokage yelled, blocking a jab to his chest and returned with a jab of his own aimed for the traitor's throat. "The Fourth did the only thing he knew of in order to preserve the peace of this village!"

Jiraiya came at Orochimaru from the side with a ball of swirling energy in the palm of his hand, hurling it forward in an attempt to land the attack at his ribcage. The attack landed, but the result was not a hurling of his opponent's body as he desired.

When the attack landed, there was actually a splattering of mud upon both old Konoha shinobi.

"Shit, a fucking mud clone!" Jiraiya spat. He turned his head in all directions in an attempt to locate his former friend amongst the battle around them.

Shortly after Amanda had removed Anko from the vicinity, several Oto ninja emerged from the trees and commenced their attack. Before any of the intruders could focus on any target specifically, they all were forced to dodge incoming weapons. Kommando had hurled kunai and shuriken at each of them as Jack zipped towards them, his rapier drawn.

The group that had emerged originally numbered well over thirty at the start, but since then had been cut down to half. Many of them had apparently been trained to work in tandem with each other to increase their effectiveness so they proved to last longer than your average ninja against such enemies as the Yamikage and the 'Darkened Blade of the West'.

"Looking for me?" came Orochimaru's voice as he slipped up from the ground just enough to latch his hands around Jiraiya's ankles. Before the Toad Hermit could do anything, he found himself neck-deep in the ground and unable to move anything below his jaw. Sarutobi was about to move to free his student when he was suddenly forced to jump back as a large white spear lodged itself in between him and Jiraiya.

"I would advise against trying to free him and focus on protecting yourself, Sandaime Hokage," came the soft voice of Kimimaro. Behind him stood four more Oto shinobi, each one very different than your average shinobi in appearance.

Each of them wore similar outfits, but their physical features were the distinctive attributes that stood out. One had six arms while one was the size of a large animal with an orange Mohawk. The third one looked almost to have a second head sprouting from the back of his neck, while the most normal looking was the redhead that had been alongside Sasuke earlier that day at the gates to the village. Each of the four ninja seemed emotionless as they quickly moved around Sarutobi. He recognized the hand sign sequences each of them were flying through but was unable to prevent them from finishing their tandem jutsu with the albino keeping a second spear poised at the ready.

Upon completion of the hand signs, the four Oto nin shouted out, "Dark Flame Barrier!" Immediately, a barrier of dark purple energy sprang from each one of them, forming a wall between each pair that stretched seemingly into the clouds.

Sarutobi drew a kunai from a holster on his battle attire and launched it at the barrier. As he had expected, the weapon disintegrated upon contact.

"I see you noticed the jutsu rather quickly, Sarutobi-_sensei_," came the slick voice of Orochimaru. He appeared from the ground and smiled sadistically. "I found this jutsu, among some other interesting ones, while I was a part of a certain organization shortly after defecting from Konoha. I figured that I could easily use it if I ever had the need to fight a strong opponent without fear of interruption."

The old man turned a scowl towards the only other person in the contained area. "What do you hope to accomplish by fighting me like this? You stand to gain nothing if I die! The council won't let you return, and you already have the Uchiha as well as the secrets of the Sharingan!"

The snake-handler merely shook his head as he placed his arms across his chest. "You really think that I would want such a decrepit village after I've created my own? No, I'm not here to take the village over. Now that you've so graciously given me the knowledge on unlocking the Sharingan, all that remains is for me to destroy Konoha!"

Sarutobi flew through hand signs as he noticed his former student begin his own preparations. "Earth style: Mud Dragon jutsu!" From the ground behind the old ninja came a shaft of earth that took the form of a dragon as it shot over him and straight for Orochimaru.

The snake-wannabe had to jump out of the way thus canceling his hand signs in order to avoid the attack. "Not wasting any time are we, sensei?"

"Orochimaru, I have no choice but to correct the worst mistake I ever made when I let you go all those years ago!" Sarutobi exclaimed. He bit his thumb and did a quick set of signs. "Summoning Jutsu! Enma come forth!"

Orochimaru grinned wide. "So you are serious this time. That's good. I wouldn't be able to stand killing you otherwise!" He tilted his head back, opening his mouth to such a degree that he had to unhinge his jaw bone and out crawled asnake. He reached down the snake's throat, and when he pulled his hand out, a longsword was firmly in his grasp. "I believe you remember the sword I found, the Sword of Kusanagi?"

Orochimaru charged the older ninja before he could respond, attempting to stab him through the heart. His attack was stopped however as Enma finally appeared from the smoke and held the blade firmly in between his palms. The giant monkey summon grit his teeth in pain as blood dripped down his wrists and fell to the ground, Orochimaru pressing harder on the sword handle. "You were always a pathetic one, snake bastard. I don't know what Sarutobi ever saw in you!" he grunted as he pushed the pale-skinned ninja away.

The Hokage narrowed his eyes as he saw Orochimaru commence with the same sequence of hand signs. "Enma, hurry! We must prevent him from finishing that jutsu, or else the village will be lost!"

Enma nodded his head simply and rushed the snake-master. Once again, Orochimaru had to break his concentration in order to avoid being injured. _Dammit! If I don't finish this sequence soon, I won't have enough chakra to do it at all!_

"If you are going to destroy this village my pupil, then I have no choice but to show you the determination and strength that is required of the one given the title of Hokage! The strength and determination that you showed no signs of having, the entire reason why you had been looked over as becoming the Yondaime all those years ago!" Sarutobi launched a half dozen shuriken from each hand, follwed by a pair of hand signs. "Shadow Shuriken jutsu!"

Orochimaru watched with narrowed eyes as the six shuriken turned into over forty, all of them heading straight towards him. _One last chance, otherwise this will never work!_ He thought quickly.

He bit his thumb and did a set of signs, slamming the bit hand down onto the ground. "Summoning jutsu!" From the resulting smoke came a gaping snake's maw, the body of which soon follwed. It coiled itself around its summoner just in time for the shuriken to bounce off its scales. The snake reared its head back and let its tongue loose, sniffing the air then spoke. "Orochimaru, under any other circumstances I would eat you for not having my sacrifices ready upon summoning me. But since you are fighting Enma, I shall forgive you this once; as long as you feed me the corpse of his summoner!"

Sarutobi took a cautious step back as Manda lowered his head over Orochimaru. Enma growled in frustration as he placed himself between the snake and the Third Hokage.

Unbeknowst to Sarutobi and the Monkey King, Orochimaru had utilized the distraction of his summon as well as the cover of the snake boss to perform the hand signs for his ace in the hole. "Manda, you shall have the body of the Sandaime as olong as I can first borrow the head to show those of the Leaf village his defeat!"

"Damn snake, thinking that just because you've summoned your pet that you are going to win? How-" Enma started, but soon found himself trembling as a pure and tainted force coming from within the coils of the larger summon. He turned his attention just briefly to his ummoner and saw That Sarutobi had noticed it already.

"What, cat got your tongue, Enma? Well, in that case let me show you the fruits of my experiments since I deserted this pathetic village years ago!" Orochimaru spoke. Upon speaking, Manda slithered off to the side and revealed his summoner standing there, with three coffins in front of him. "Forbidden jutsu: Resurrection!" he called out, his hands forming the last sign in the intricate sequence.

Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock at the jutsu his former pupil called out. _No… It can't be!_

"I see you recognize the jutsu style, Sarutobi-sensei. This was one of the ones that I've developed since my defection: it allows me to return those of the dead to the world of the living for as long as I want in exchange for living sacrifices," Orochimaru stated as he pulled three tagged kunai from his pocket. He moved forward to the coffin on the left and proceeded to open it, pulling a figure out of the confines. His pale hand moved to the back of the figures neck and a _squelch_ was heard in the area as he embedded one of the three special kunai into the back of the figures skull. "With these kunai, I control the resurrected person's actions to do whatever I want. A rather interesting and formidable jutsu, if you… revive the appropriate people," his voice echoed.

As Orochimaru stepped to the coffin on the other side of the group, the figure he had left shapeshifted from a nameless Oto ninja to something Sarutobi didn't expect.

There, in front of the remains of the first coffin, was the First Hokage, the last known ninja with the fabled Mokuton affinity. "Hello Sarutobi."

The old Hokage stared dumbfounded at the man who had ultimately created Konoha himself. His awe and fear rose beyond his initial reaction when he then saw the second form that Orochimaru had summoned. The Snake Hermit had utilized the momentary lapse in coherence within his old sensei to embed the control-kunai into the Second Hokage, a legendary water-specialist that could draw water out of the driest of environments. "Oh Sarutobi, you look so old now."

"Yes, it seems that time has greatly passed since we were among the land of the living," responded the First.

The Second nodded his head solemnly. "Then it seems that his student has forsaken the laws of nature and used a jutsu to bring us back, hm brother?"

"N-no, this can't be… Orochimaru, what are you doing to them? Why have you resurrected them? And who lies in that last coffin?" Sarutobi shakily asked, his hand nearing his kunai pouch as the pale figure before neared the final coffin in the middle of the area. _He can't truly believe… NO!_

The snake-eyed man smiled with devilish glee in his voice as he waved his hand, the special tag attached to the kunai flapping in the movement. "Isn't it obvious, _sensei_? I'm ensuring my victory over the village!" He moved toward the final coffin, smirking all the while.

"Orochimaru! I can't allow you to continue!" The old ninja looked sideways at his summons, giving a curt nod. Before anyone could blink, Enma ran full speed at the final coffin in hopes of preventing the traitor from finishing his jutsu.

His gold eyes looked on amused as the summons charged the last coffin. With a quick motion of his hand, Orochimaru continued his path as the Nidaime and Shodaime Hokages rushed to intercept the enemy. _Fool._

Sarutobi saw this and realized that he only had this one chance at preventing the most heinous thing he'd ever witness from being completing. He took in a breath as his hands flew through hand sign after hand sign in a sequence, ending with the fore and middle finger crossed in front of him, summoning two shadow clones before him.

Right after the other, the three Sarutobis ran in a straight line towards his former student, every other second the lead figure leaping to be the third. This increased their speed greatly, and they were drawing closer to the man that should never have been allowed to escape in the first place.

With an evil smile, Orochimaru did his own hand signs and sliced his thumb in the process, slamming his hand down onto the ground. "Summoning jutsu: Rashomon!"

Just as the lineup of the Third Hokage and his two clones were about to body-slam into the remaining coffin, a large, demonic gate appeared mere inches in front of the coffin. The one in back at this point was the only one lucky enough to have stopped as his two shadow clones were unable to slow down and move before entering the gate and thus being dispelled. "Dammit! I can't stop him at this point now…" Sarutobi muttered in defeat.

"I see you have finally realized that it's been fruitless to fight me this entire time, sensei. I truly wish you would have just handed me the title of Hokage instead of that blasted Namikaze, but such things occur." Orochimaru stepped up to the last coffin, noting that Enma relented from his attempt and rejoined his summoner as the First and Second Hokages remained where they had just been fighting the large monkey. "But everything is coming along according to plan: my forces have been lying in wait for this for quite some time, and now I have you exactly where I want you!"

He firmly grasped the last special kunai in his hand and opened the coffin before him. The wood fell to the ground and shattered as the figure within turned from the lifeless body of the former Kazekage into a man with unruly blonde hair, Hokage robes that strangely enough had fire along the bottom hem, and a stern look on his face. "Now that his body is here, one final adjustment," he said as he slipped the tagged kunai into the man's skull, "and done!"

Just as Orochimaru closed his mouth, the eyes of the last figure snapped open, scanning the area around himself. His ocean-blue eyes surveyed the scenery, spotting his predecessors, a monkey and snake summons boss, and the pale-skinned man just behind him. He reached a hand tentatively to his face, rubbed it gingerly, and scratched the back of his head.

Well, he would have had his hand met resistance mere centimeters from the back of his head. His eyes grew dark with realization as he examined the forms of the First and Second Hokages and glanced quickly at Orochimaru before finally setting his gaze on Sarutobi.Moments passed as the two men made eye contact, neither seeing an answer they were going to ever be satisfied with to this dilemma.

"I see." The last figure lowered his hand back to his side, only for both hands to slowly extract kunai from pouches within the Hokage robe he wore. The kunai, each with intricate seals on them, were then thrown around the enclosed area and embedded themselves within the vicinity. "I am truly sorry this had to happen, Saru-ji-san. If I had known that Konoha's people would become endangered like this due to my selection as Hokage, I would never have accepted the position."

Outside the barrier, all fighting seemed to have come to a dead halt all of a sudden when the last coffin's occupant was revived.

Those Oto nin that remained fighting against Jack and Kommando appeared to start backing away from their enemies after noticing the occurrence.

Both Ankoku veterans almost pissed themselves in shock.

The four unique Oto nin remaines toic as ever in their efforts to maintain the barrier jutsu, dividing the surrounding battles from the most important fight ever to occur in Konoha.

Kimimaro stood impassively above Jiraiya, paying no mind to the feeling of power and dread from within the obstructed zone. His eyes maintained a quiet vigil on the trapped man below him, and were shocked at what happened next.

Jiraiya had been struggiling against the earth that he had been encased in moments ago, doing whatever he could to free any amount of his body from the jutsu. 'Damn bastard! He used my own jutsu against me! Go figure that he'd use any means necessary to realize his dreams.' This had been the basic train of his thoughts before the ominous feeling eminated from the barrier. The Toad Hermit was shocked and horrified.

'… No… It can't be… Orochimaru resurrected… Minato…'

* * *

Groups of opposing forces were interrupted one by one momentarily as a large animal ran faster than the human eye could match as it made its way to its master, Hinata and Shikamaru unconscious on its back. Both genin were out cold the entire trip across the village and deep into the woods beyond the fighting of Sound and Sand against the Leaf. Neither one woke up either when the animal finally came to a stop in front of a pair of cloaked figures, one significantly shorter than the other.

"I see you were able to secure both of his teammates but not him, Byakko," said the taller figure. The voice was female, easily in her mid to late thirties. Her face and that of her companion was hidden by drawn hoods, masks covering the lower portions of their faces.

The large animal, now revealed to be a white tiger the size of five men, lowered his head slowly for the shorter cloaked figure to retrieve the limp bodies off its neck. **"I'm sorry Uzukage-sama, but he was already involved with a fight by the time I had arrived. And it was better that I leave him be…"**

The taller figure brought its arms out from under the cloak and folded them across its chest. "Oh? And what does that mean, Byakko? Were you unable to simply pick him up by the scruff of his neck?" the figure asked, its feminine voice seemingly irritated.

"**Nothing of the sort… He had tapped into the demon's power."**

The two figures seemed to create a cold aura around the both of them. The smaller one was tending to the wounds Shikamaru had sustained when he pushed Hinata out of the way when it heard the tiger speak. The taller one dropped both her arms at this and one hand flew up and rubbed her face under the hood.

"I see. Then I have no choice." The woman turned and looked at the smaller figure, noting that the boy was no longer bleeding from his puncture wounds and had freshly-gauzed wrappings over them. "Misaki, do you have any stasis scrolls? If we have any hopes of doing this now, we have no choice but to seal them to prevent them from getting in the way of danger further."

"Lemme check, Uzukage-sama," came a younger female voice as the shorter figure rummaged through a bag hidden under her cloak. "Unfortunately, I only have a single stasis scroll, since I figured we would only be bringing him back and that was in case he was grieviously wounded…"

"Fine, seal the boy there and we'll just have to make sure that the girl doesn't get injured further." The woman knelt down and checked Hinata's pulse for a second before picking the girl up and placing her back onto Byakko's neck. The shorter girl, Misaki, pulled her hood down and unrolled the scroll she pulled out of her hidden bag. Painting the words needed, she focused her chakra onto the scroll and then Shikamaru's body. With a puff of smoke he disappeared into the scroll.

Misaki quickly picked up the scroll and rolled it as she made her way to the tiger summon. Her shoulder-length red hair flopped around as she took up the spot behind the taller woman atop the white tiger. Her jade eyes glanced over the woman's shoulder at the Hyuuga heiress before turning to look into the jade eyes of the woman in front of her. "Alright, let's go save him…"

With a nod, the woman turned back to the front and poked the back of Byakko's neck with two fingers. "Let's go, take us to Naruto swiftly Byakko; time is of the essence!"

"**As you request, Uzukage-sama."** The tiger summon veered one way before veering around to the other in the process of making a U-turn in the small clearing and ran back the way it came, heading straight towards Konoha in the midst of the fighting.

* * *

Sasuke looked on in horror as the flames that had burst from where the strange tails had originated finally died away. The entirety of Naruto's body had sustained tremendous damage from the backlash of the demonic chakra, and almost all of his clothes were either ashes on the ground or mere strips of fabric. Only his hitai-ite and bag remained somewhat intact, but something terrifying had happened to the metal plate of Naruto's headband.

In the resulting fire from his tails backfiring on him, the plate that had the Leaf symbol engraved on it had been fused into the skin just over where his heart was. The plate was still at an angle when it had been overtaken by the flames, thus it was now at an angle as a part of Naruto's ravaged charcoal-colored skin.

'No… Naruto… You can't be dead…' thought Sasuke as he looked down at his former comrade, his fellow class mate, his would-be friend.

The last Uchiha lost the strength to stand as he saw some wind blow away some of the ashes that were once Naruto's clothes. He ended up plopping promptly on his ass, unable to believe the sight before him. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, thinking back at all the times that had happened between them during their days at the Academy with the others. Their fueding about everything, their rivalry, even the way they had been before the genin finals. The way they had acted at the gate just that morning, how Sasuke had given him the answers to the questions in the first part of the exams.

It was flooding his mind, all these memories. 'No… No… NO…' "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Sasuke opened his eyes wide and screamed, his hands clamping over his ears hard. His screams echoed off the nearby buildings and went on for minutes.

"NARUTO!" came a sudden yell from behind Sasuke.

Sasuke was just barely able to get out of the way as what seemed to be a large white tiger landed on the other side of Naruto's limp form. Two figures, one with hood up and the shorter one with hood down, landed from atop the tiger. The taller woman knelt down next to Naruto and drew her hood back, her red hair falling softly in its huge braid down her back and onto the ground as the shorter redhead moved to stand in between Sasuke and the others.

"What did you do to him, Oto-teme!" demanded the shorter one, her jade eyes narrowing as she drew two curved daggers from under her cloak.

Sasuke took a step back and placed a hand on his kunai holster, his eyes starting to flicker in color. "I didn't do anything! He just suddenly burst into flames after we spoke for a couple moments!"

"Liar! No one just _suddenly _bursts into flames!" she screamed. She took an advancing step forward but then paused minutely. "Fuck, you're the last Uchiha aren't you?"

"I don't give my name out to mere nobodies," Sasuke scowled, his hand coming up with a kunai ready for a backhand-stab if need be.

The taller redhead took the time that Misaki was buying to examine Naruto with a glowing green chakra enveloping her hand. 'Fuck, he must have attempted to use more than just F-level demon chakra too soon! That's the only reason he should be this burnt out…' Without a word to disturb the distraction her subordinate was making, the Uzukage pulled a bottle out from her covered pockets and emptied it onto Naruto's body. Once the bottle was emptied entirely, she gently started to spread the salve over his body. She winced when her hand connected with the still-hot hitai-ite plate in his chest. 'Shit… Gonna have to hope the Kyuubi can heal the scars that'll leave when it gets removed.'

Misaki glared at Sasuke briefly before she showed him the flat side of one of her daggers with a retort. "I really don't need you to answer me since you have those damn copy-eyes showing bright as day!"

The raven-haired boy glimpsed in his reflection and saw what she was speaking of. There, in the glare from the light on the metal, was Sasuke's face. His eyes were no longer the mere charcoal black they usually were; now, they were red with a single tomoe outside the black pupil.

Before anyone could do anything more, the large tiger growled loudly as it opened its mouth. The woman next to Naruto looked at him and turned to what her summon was gazing at.

There, within the center of the village at the Hokage's Tower, was a gigantic beast made from what appeared to be sand. The Uzukage's eyes narrowed furiously at the sight, and looked back down at the boy before her. "Fuck, Shukaku's vessel is here also?"

"How do you know about Gaara's demon?" asked Sasuke, kunai still gripped firmly in his hand. He'd be damned if he let someone get to him with his guard down at this point.

"That doesn't concern you, Uchiha. What does concern you is that you won't be walking away from this fight unharmed!" called out Misaki, bringing both arms from under her cloak. With a swift motion, she pulled her cloak off and flung it to the side, revealing her entire form to the world.

Under the black cloak, the young kunoichi wore black shinobi sandals with tape from under her footwear going up and disappearing under the loose material of her black cargo shorts. Her arms were covered from mid-hand all the way to the middle of her biceps by black gloves with strange red designs on each one. Her upper body was covered in a black top that left her midriff uncovered as well as the tops of her shoulders but snugly fit around her neck up to just a couple inches below her lower jaw, the back of which bore a red swirl in between her shoulder blades. Across her neck and tied off to the side was a hitai-ite on a black cloth that bore the image of a whirlpool atop a jagged line from one end of the plate to the other that curved downwards. Her red hair blew in the wind that started to pick up, her eyes deepening as she placed her left foot forward as her left arm pointed out with dagger towards Sasuke, the dagger in her right hand pointed from above and behind her head at him as well.

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed in frustration, taking his own stance. 'I don't have time for this! I need to do my part and fight Gaara!' "If you're so eager to lose, then make the first move!" he taunted. He was desperately trying to get her to make the first move, in hopes of using his freshly-awakened Sharingan for the first time. Despite the whole situation going on around him, Sasuke was inwardly running around his mindscape and jumping for joy while screaming his head off at his achievement.

Fate had other plans though for them. Just as Misaki was about to speak, a large ball of sand, several yards in diameter, landed in between Sasuke and his opponent. The resulting explosion tossed sand everywhere, causing Sasuke to cover his eyes with his arms to prevent himself from being blinded.

The woman with red hair flung Misaki's discarded cloak over Naruto's scorched form, preventing any of the minute matter from landing on his severe burns. "Misaki, we've completed the mission! We're moving out!" the woman barked, using the cloak to envelop the blonde genin's body in. She placed him gingerly on Byakko's neck alongside Hinata as the younger redhead sheathed her daggers behind her back and flew through a series of hand signs. With a bite of her thumb, she smeared blood over her fingers and slammed it onto the ground with a cry of "Summoning Jutsu".

A resulting cloud of smoke arose and cleared, revealing the redhead atop a smaller tiger, this one orange rather than white. She gave one last stern glare to Sasuke before her tiger turned and soon, both she and her companion disappeared with Hinata and Naruto.

* * *

Orochimaru smiled with evil glee as he watched his former sensei battle his own instructors as well as his replacement. 'Sarutobi you fool, you should never have overlooked my nomination for Hokage all those years ago. But it's all over now, you can't hope to fight off all three dead Hokages!'

Indeed: it seemed to Orochimaru that, rather than fight back against the First, Second and Fourth Hokages, Sarutobi was merely doing his best to avoid being struck by all their attacks.

"Sarutobi, I wish things were different," said the Shodaime as he moved his hands through a sequence. Upon completion, there was a sudden surge below the earth which soon erupted into a monstrous tree. The branches shot out in all directions as the trunk rocketed upward, splitting every so often into more trunks that went in any direction as if they had a mind of their own. By the time the tree had completed growing, it took up almost all the space within the secluded area, creating a labyrinth of wood.

Each individual in the area was unable to see any of the others, the result of the Shodaime's jutsu having separated each from the rest in a matter of moments.

The Sandaime cursed mutedly under his breath at the situation. He glanced around his section of the 'forest', and found no signs of Enma. 'Looks like I have no choice but to move into the center…'

On his cautious way, the old Hokage noticed something flapping in the soft breeze. When he neared the branch in question, he found it to be a piece of black cloth stuck onto the end of the foliage. He took it and sniffed it once, his eyes widening. It smelled of Enma, and he knew what that meant. 'Enma was eaten…'

Before he could further speculate on the matter, a huge rumbling came rushing to his ears as the giant snake boss Manda rammed into him.

Sarutobi was winded by the body slam and fell to his knees as the snake moved away and out of sight. When he looked up again, he noticed three of his opponents standing a small distance away on another branch of the enormous tree.

Orochimaru and the first two Hokages of Konoha stood in front of him while the Fourth was still unaccounted for. When the Snake Hermit sneered his way, Sarutobi followed the golden eyes and saw why.

Behind him and right above his head, was one of the specialized kunai that were used in one of the Yondaime's signature jutsu, the Flying Thunder God.

* * *

Outside the barrier, Jack and Kommando looked at one another before they made their moves.

Over the course of the last few minutes since the dreaded feeling had emerged from behind the barrier, almost all of their opponents either fled or were cut down in their shock. Now only one enemy stood before them, and he was looking them head on with his green eyes, his white hair blowing slightly. Jiraiya was still held up to his chin in dirt, unfortunately keeping him out of the fight.

"I see why Orochimaru-sama has said you earned the title of Yamikage, after seeing you fight in combat," the pale teen said stoically. He lowered the right side of his shirt and focused his chakra; a second later and he pulled out a longsword from his shoulder, leveling the point at Jack. "But one can only go along with the words of others for so long before you have to see the sight for yourself."

Jack readied his rapier into the basic stance while Kommando gripped a kunai in each hand. "Jack, this must be the last of the Kiri's infamous Kaguya; I can sense his bloodlust," the blind shinobi said smoothly as he lowered himself into position.

Just as the three ninja were about to launch into their assaults, Jiraiya noticed something oddly familiar heading towards them. Then he saw it.

Rather, he saw _them_.

The three armed shinobi turned their attention to the path leading back to the village and saw what had the Toad Hermit's attention after a second.

There, running towards them at high speeds, were a pair of tigers with one being significantly bigger than the other behind it. Two of the four ninja recognized the redhead that was on the larger tiger merely by her mount.

And they each had the same thought run through their mind upon realizing who it was.

'We're all going to fucking die…'

* * *

**Wooooo! That was great, and it's going to get even better from this point on!**

**Who is the Uzukage? Who exactly is Misaki? Where do they come from? Why were they seeking Naruto? And why do Jiraiya and Jack feel the Reaper's blade has started to lovingly caress their necks?**

**Find out next time, when I reveal the answers to these questions and more, in _Beyond the Darkness of Fate, chapter 33_!**


	33. Last of the Hokages

**Hello everyone, and welcome to the 33****rd**** chapter of **_**Beyond the Darkness of Fate**_**!**

**Now, I'd like to address a little matter that occurred some time ago that led me to prevent visitors from reviewing my fic, and that's flaming me for the use of Modern Western names in a Japanese-themed fic. The first reviewer that did this was anon, and didn't seem to realize that a good portion of the OCs in this fic **_**aren't mine**_** and thus I have to have them using English names.**

**I should be taking the time sometime soon to go back and put a disclaimer in the first chapter about there being characters in this story that I cannot rename as they aren't my property who have western names. **

(Itachi looks around)

Itachi: Man, all our loyal fans must be on vacation or something! I only saw one of them review the last chapter, and it's been 24 hours already. Oh well, just means they get a nice fat surprise in their inbox hen they start getting back to their normal dull lives.

**Indeed. But, now that I've rambled and you've speculated, let's get to work on this next chapter, Wonder Weasel!**

(Itachi gives me a backwards salute with his left hand, his left arm reaching across his chest and his palm facing up)

Itachi: Aye Aye, Djinn!

(He turns to face the audience)

Itachi: Today's Installment of _Beyond the Darkness of Fate _is brought to you by the letter 3, and the number 'joint'!

* * *

Just as the three ninja were about to launch into their assaults, Jiraiya noticed something oddly familiar heading towards them. Then he saw it.

Rather, he saw _them_.

The three armed shinobi turned their attention to the path leading back to the village and saw what had the Toad Hermit's attention after a second.

There, running towards them at high speeds, were a pair of tigers with one being significantly bigger than the other behind it. Two of the four ninja recognized the redhead that was on the larger tiger merely by her mount.

And they each had the same thought run through their mind upon realizing who it was.

'We're all going to fucking die…'

Inside the barrier, Sarutobi was now laying on the ground, a pool of his own blood having formed around and under his dying body. Standing above him was the once-great Yondaime Hokag,e Minato Namikaze, his hands holding kunai which still dripped blood belonging to the man who he had once looked up to as an uncle.

"I'm… sorry Minato… I couldn't… keep that promise… I made to you all those… years ago," coughed out the dying man, his eyes unable to stay focused on the face looking down at him. Oh how Sarutobi missed the days where that face had nothing but a big stupid grin plastered on it…

Indeed, that grin that had seemed to have been passed on down to Naruto from his father was nowhere to be seen at this moment; his expression was dark and grim, his eyes listless as he gazed emotionlessly at the man he had replaced and yet forced out of retirement. He knelt down, the kunai in his hands forgotten as they dropped to the forest floor, and gently tapped the Hokage's hitai-ite on the plate.

"I understand, Saru-jiji. I never really expected for the village to truly heed my last request… Maybe I should have just taken my newborns and my wife and fled, ordering all the shinobi to take the villagers and abandon Konoha when that demon attacked, rather than destroy Kushina's heart and seal the Kyuubi into our first born child…"

Orochimaru quirked an eyebrow at something the resurrected Yondaime just uttered. 'Did he just say new_borns_?'

Sarutobi attempted to raise an arm up to the blonde above him, but he suddenly felt something almost forgotten, a presence that promised retaliation and pain, nearing the secluded area outside the village. Before he could say anything, Minato put a finger to his lips and motioned that he knew.

The First and Second Hokages also noticed the presence nearing them, and knew that their time would amongst the living would be up soon either way. Orochimaru merely frowned as he sensed it, sensing along with it a great urge to kill.

All eyes fell to Sarutobi as another cough racked his body with a small trickle of blood ozzing down from the corner of his mouth. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Minato… Tell Kushina, that I'm… sorry about what's happened… to her life…"

And with that last sentence, Sarutobi Sasuke, the Sandaime Hokage two times over, released his last breath as a member of the living world.

Outside the barrier, all ninja able to see the appearance of two kunoichi riding tigers turned their eyes towards the one on the larger beast. The woman looked around at the three standing ninja and then at the head of the one caught in the Headhunter jutsu, then cast her gaze minutely at the closest corner of the barrier. She smirked as she saw that the Oto ninja closest to her was the kunoichi of the group. She removed her cloak and placed it over the still form of Hinata atop Byakko's neck.

"It's been quite a while, Jack, Jiraiya," she said as she walked calmly inbetween the Ankoku and Oto shinobi. She steadied her eyes on Kimimaro. "And I could have sworn your clan was exterminated along with all the others of Kirigakure during the civil war that Momochi instigated."

The albino's eyes narrowed as he shifted his feet. "I would say similar things of you, kunoichi, but Orochimaru-sama never informed us of a village with a symbol such as that on your headband."

The Uzukage crossed her arms as her companion edged her tiger closer to the white one, keeping her eyes on Naruto and Hinata's unconscious bodies. "Of course that snake wouldn't know anything. The Village Hidden Beyond Land's End is truly a hidden village; none of us have left the village in ten years."

Jack eased his rapier as he looked at Jiraiya out of the corner of his eye. "I suppose that explains why even we of Ankoku have not heard anything about this new village, Sakini Riku-Ate," he added with a bit of agitation in his voice. The Yamikage was obviously not pleased that he was uninformed of a new village; after all, he had heard of Orochimaru's village and installed spies within it in a matter of a month, but here was someone he _never expected_ to see again making a grand entrance and shoving his lack of intel right up his nose.

"Can someone be so kind as TO GET ME OUT OF HERE!" screamed Jiraiya, his lower jaw slamming against the ground as he spoke.

"Of course, Ero-sennin," replied the redhead. Before Jiraiya could protest, the woman stepped up next to him and focused her chakra into her right foot.

With a swift movement, the Uzukage lifted her leg and slammed her foot a couple of feet from the spot where the Toad Sage was embedded. The chakra in her leg drilled down into the ground and then made a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn to come up underneath Jiraiya. The resulting chakra burst rocketed the old ninja out of the ground and into the air by several feet as the woman walked back to her mount.

If he hadn't been expecting such an act when he first saw her, Jiraiya would have not been prepared. He was barely able to adjust himself in midair to prevent from landing flat on his head and stood a few feet from Kommando, sighing as he dusted himself.

"I guess I should thank you, Kushina. But was it really necessary to do _that_ method?" he asked. He focused his eyes on the woman and saw that she apparently was not in a good mood as she glared the man down.

"Beggers can't be choosers, especially when they fail to keep their oaths to their students."

The man scowled, not liking the tone. "I had no choice! The council was threatening to revoke my citizenship if I had taken Naruto with me, and they were not about to let me adopt him even if I had agreed to remain in the village!"

"Excuses are like assholes: everyone has one, and it stinks Jiraiya." The woman, now known as Kushina, looked at the last Kaguya, and then at the redhead maintaining the barrier jutsu. "So how have things in Otogakure been, Tayu-chan? Did that snake bastard ever find out you were a spy?"

Kimimaro gave out a snort as he returned his longsword to his body, the others (even Misaki) were unfazed by the sight) and looked hard at the redhead. "Of course Orochimaru-sama knew she was a spy for Ankokugakure; he used her just like he uses all those under his rule to his goals. He would never have taken her in the first place if he didn't know that her position as a spy for the western village could turn around in his favor."

The woman laughed out loud at this, causing the pale-haired ninja to give her a quizzical look. "I knew that her being a spy for Jack was going to be used to his advantage; I was asking Tayu-chan if her being _my_ spy was ever discovered."

As everyone not wearing the hitai-ite of the Sakini Riku-Ate no Sato looked between the taller redhead next to the white tiger and the younger redhead performing the barrier jutsu with wide eyes, causing the latter shot back a retort, "Since you've blown my cover, does that mean I can drop this damn jutsu already Lady Uzukage?"

Kushina let out another laugh as she nodded. "Yes Tayuya, you can drop that damn barrier. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get Naruto the fuck out of here."

"About damn time!"

With that, the Oto kunoichi released her hold on the jutsu, thus causing her 'teammates' to drop theirs as well. Each of them, as well as the snake-eyed man on the other side of where the barrier used to be, looked at her with shock. Kushina narrowed her eyes as she spotted the corpse of the Sandaime lying on the ground, the Yondaime still kneeling next to him.

"What is the meaning of this Tayuya? Why did you drop the barrier?" demanded Orochimaru as he stepped closer to her. His eyes flickered towards Jack and found that his jutsu against Jiraiya had been neutralized, and then realized exactly what that aura was he had noticed moments ago. "Kushina…" came out of his mouth, true hatred sparking on his face.

"Ah, so the snake-teme was really in there," said Misaki. She leaned forward and crossed her arms atop the head of her tiger while Orochimaru looked between her and Kushina, a sneer covering his face.

"So this is what Minato meant when he said new_borns_ when he gave his final farewell to Sarutobi-sensei," he said. He looked back at the Shodaime and Nidaime, noting that the chakra supplies within their 'bodies' was nearing empty from the battle in the barrier. He then looked at the Yondaime and saw his 'body' was starting to smoke a bit, most likely from the high amount of chakra needed for him to perform the jutsu that had gifted him a 'flee-on-sight' order in the bingo books of enemy nations.

When Minato heard the youngest redhead's voice, he slowly lifted his head and looked the girl in the eyes. And then he knew that, when he had made the choice to save Konoha by sacrificing himself in exchange for using Naruto as a mere tool, was the wrong choice. He stood up slowly and trudged towards the two redheads, ignoring the increase of smoke rising off his body.

Kushina made no effort to move when he came face to face with her, noting the change of emotions in his 'eyes'.

"Kushina…"

The woman remained silent, her eyes unfaltering in her gaze.

"Tell me, Kushina… What did you name her?" he asked with a crack in his voice.

"Why should you care? You took her brother away before she was born and turned him into a vessel! You ruined his life!" the woman exploded, years of sorrow, anger and regret pouring all out at once. Her heart had been nothing but stone to the world except for Misaki, and upon coming this close to her love once more, the dam that was holding everything back couldn't handle the stress cracks and burst wide open.

"You took my baby boy out of my arms mere moments after I gave him life, and look what happened to him! _Your_ village treated him horribly! _Your village_ gave him nothing but their hatred and anger! On his _birthday_, the people that you _gave your life to protect_ gave him nothing but beatings so severe, that if it weren't for the damn demon _you_ put into him, that he would have **died** from!"

"Kushina…"

"**NO**! You're going to fucking listen to me while you still can Minato-kun! I have been secretly hoping that something like this would happen just so I could finally get these feelings out, and I'm _not_ about to waste what little time we have left together for you to try and rationalize the fact that you fucked up our first born child's life so horribly!" the woman screamed at the top of her lungs. Kushina's cheeks burned from the anger and torment she was releasing, but knew she had little time left before she might have to let these feelings eat her from the inside out. "Every time I fucking came to monitor him or got reports from my connection here, I never got anything positive about the situation that had become Naruto's daily life! You asked that the people of this fucking village treat my son like a hero, and yet your last pupil in the village _used his own attack on him when he was merely five_!"

Everyone was speechless at this point; none of them dared to move.

Except for one particular ninja.

Or, rather his _tongue_ decided to move while this was going on.

Orochimaru had taken note of the fact that, on the back of the white tiger's neck was the form of one Hyuuga Hinata, the only unprotected Hyuuga Main Branch member in the exams. He knew that a Hyuuga could match a Sharingan easily with their Byakugan, and saw his only opportunity to obtain the mighty bloodline for his experiments.

Hence why his tongue had elongated to such lengths and was now crawling silently around everyone to get at Hinata.

No one noticed it as the raging redhead of a kunoichi continued berating her soon-to-be-dead-again lover. "You think it was easy for me to have to leave my first born son in this fucking village? I knew that, after you were done sealing the fox, almost everyone here would demand his head! And what about your sensei? He was supposed to keep that promise to us when he agreed to be the godfather for our children! And," she glared at Jiraiya, tempted to turn him into a living pin cushion with all her kunai, "You know what he did? He just ran off, tail between his legs when he couldn't get past the council and decided to write _porn_ for a living while peep on women in the hot springs!"

"Kushina…"

"Shut the fuck up and LISTEN Minato!" Kushina yelled, tears flowing down her cheeks. "It tore my fucking heart out to see and hear about how the teachers in the Academy refused to even give him the slightest bit of instruction! The only food he could eat when he didn't get escorted by Sarutobi was fucking ramen, and that was only because Teuchi Ichiraku was originally from Whirlpool and wanted to help me! He and his daughter Ayame have been the only restaurant in this whole fucking place to serve Naruto anything remotely edible! And the fucking supply stores and clothing shops would refuse to give him anything but _orange jumpsuits and blunt practice weapons_ at three times the price! Only the Hyuuga made any effort to help Naruto, but that was only after Naruto started dating the heiress!"

"…"

"None of your _allies_ in this village, save for the man you just killed, did anything to honor your dying words… The only person aside from Sarutobi, my spies, and a few kids his own age looked at him for _who_ he is, not what he keeps sealed away…" Kushina sniffled as she wiped away some of the tears. "When you came into the hospital room after the fighting started, and after I had heard yells of 'demon', I was afraid…And then my fears came true when you told me you needed Naruto, our first born child… You didn't even notice the fact that I was still in the delivery room, your mind so bent on saving the village… AND NOW LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!"

The Yondaime could hear the cries of battle, pain, and death from all over the village. His home, the place he had loved so much and wanted to protect with his life, the place that he _had given his life_ to protect, now burning to the ground. He then faced his lover, and with shaky arms, Minato did the only thing he knew to do at this point.

He closed the distance between he and Kushina, and wrapped his smoldering arms around her, placing his mouth against hers in a soft kiss.

The surrounding ninja looked on with mixed emotions at the display: Jiraiya and the Darknes shinobi had sad looks on their faces, Misaki was tearing up as Tayuya gingerly made her way without being noticed and got onto the orange tiger; The other three Oto ninja were displaying looks of apathy and uncaring as they itched to fight, with Kimimaro simply not paying attention as he focused his gaze back on his should-be opponents; Orochimaru simply turned his attention away in disgust, not being one for 'touching moments' since he had lost his parents; the two remaining Hokages looked down in disgrace at what had become of their village, not noticing that their bodies were starting to disintegrate from the prolonged exhaustion of the jutsu.

When the kiss was finally broken, Kushina looked into Minato's blue eyes, and slowly lowered her right hand down to her side. Minato kept his arms around her as he looked back into her jade eyes while he still could, and asked once more, "Kushina, what did you name our daughter?"

Kushina used her left hand to wipe away the last of her tears as she answered. "I named our daughter, Naruto's twin sister, Misaki. I named her in honor of her great-great-grandmother, Misaki Uzumaki, the Shodaime Uzukage of the Village Hidden Amongst the Whilrpools."

Minato smiled as he looked at the smallest redhead in the vicinity. "I see… I hope she becomes a great ninja, and that she and Naruto can live happy lives away from whatever happens to this village."

Kushina looked at him with a questioning gaze, those of Leaf and Darkness doing the same. What was he saying?

"Kushina, I'm terribly sorry for what I did to our family all those years ago. I wish I had never attempted to fight the nine-tailed fox, I wish I had never chosen to seal it inside our own son… I would gladly go and turn the clock back to the point when Sarutobi-sama had announced his retirement. I would never have accepted the title of Hokage back then if I had known that something like this was going to occur."

"What are you saying, Minato?" asked Jiraiya. His former pupil was apparently not himself: the young boy that he had taken under his wing after becoming a genin and watched him grow to the rank of Hokage, was now speaking as if he was mad. "You can't mean that! It's almost as if you think that Konoha deserves this!"

"That's because, Jiraiya-sensei, the Leaf village honestly does deserve whatever it gets," the blonde shinobi-corpse said. He softly placed his forehead against that of Kushina and both closed their eyes. "Kushina, did Danzo make his move as we had expected?" he asked out of the blue.

The woman nodded her head. "Yes, he had his ROOT ANBU in disguise as the guards at my hospital room. If you hadn't placed a blood seal on the floor under the bed, Misaki would never have even been born as their swords would have ended my life before I could deliver her."

Orochimaru scowled at hearing this. Originally he had ordered Danzo to kill the Yondaime's wife in retribution for his being overlooked as Sarutobi's successor, and the operatives had reported that their assassination attempt of the Uzumaki woman was successful. 'Looks like I'll need to have a small chat with Danzo after I have Manda destroy the Hokage Tower…'

"So Danzo never obeyed me. Such is to be expected though; he never did obey Saru-jiji's commands, either. He was always trying to make it so the council could get more control over the village." The blonde looked up and saw Byakko nearing them. His eyes fell to the figure wrapped in the black cloak and his mouth fell open. "Naruto…"

Kushina turned in his arms and saw something dart away from the tiger and around the group. As she followed it, she then saw that it had been Orochimaru's tongue.

'What did you do, Oro-teme?" she growled, her eyes narrowing with fury.

Orochimaru slipped his tongue fully back into his mouth as Minato neared the tiger to examine his son for the first time in over twelve years. "Do not worry, _Uzukage-sama_, I did nothing to your son. While he may have raw potential, his skills are very lack-luster due to his insufficient training in the Academy, and his sensei hadn't started teaching them individually just yet. Plus, anything I would do to him would simply be removed by the Kyuubi herself not long afterwards."

"Then why was your _tongue_ anywhere near my summons?" she demanded.

Orochimaru smirked with an evil gleam in his eyes. "Since I already have the last Uchiha in my power, I figured I might as well try to acquire the only other bloodline that Konoha has to offer. So I gave the Hyuuga heiress a small gift, though there's a slim chance she'll even survive for more than a few hours."

Jiraiya frowned at his former teammate while Jack and Kommando looked worriedly at Hinata. They had all heard about how Orochimaru selected his best shinobi, and they had heard of the 'gift' he was talking about.

Minato stood next to Byakko's head, his hand hovering inches from Naruto's scorched face. The smoke from his body was starting to billow out even faster now, and everyone knew it. The other Hokages had already fallen to ashes on the ground momets ago, silently passing with the last images they'd ever see of the living world the final pounding of the hammer into their village's coffin lid.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun… I should never have sealed that fox into you…" he said in a whisper, his hand brushing singed hair away from the boy's forehead. His fingers slid from Naruto's hairline down the side of his face and cupped his cheek. Minato slowly moved down and gently kissed his only son on the forehead, a few tears dripping down onto Naruto's eyelids.

As Minato brought his head back up, he saw a pair of clear blue eyes flutter open and gaze directly into his own blue eyes. The Yondaime smiled sadly at the boy as his thumb caressed Naruto's face.

"W-who are you?" Naruto asked in a weak voice. "You l-look just like me… But older…"

"My Naruto-kun… I love you so much, I truly do…" the taller blonde said. His hand moved from the boy's face to his shoulder, and then to be resting over his heart. That's when Minato felt, through the cloak covering his son's body, the metal plate of the hitai-ite embedded in his skin.

"What are y-you talking about…?" the genin asked with a lump in his throat. This man felt familiar somehow but he just couldn't place it for some reason.

"Shhhh… Just rest my son. This is going to be painful, but it's the last thing I can offer you before I vanish forever…" he replied softly. Before Naruto could protest, Minato carefully pulled the cloak away and showed his son what was fused to his chest. The boy's eyes bulged out at the sight, but they quickly clamped shut as Naruto desperately tried to keep from screaming when Minato started to maneuver a super-heated kunai under the plate.

* * *

'Fuck it BURNS! WHAT IS HE DOING!? AND WHY!?'he screamed in his mindscape. His physical body would have been doing the exact movements his mental body was except for the fact that he was physically restrained.

The Kyuubi watched from the confines of the seal's cage as her vessel doubled over in pain, and could feel what was happening through their connection that had been first made in Wave. **"Otouto, he's removing the metal plate of your hitai-ite, since it had become fused to your body when you overloaded on my chakra and it backfired, causing you to suffer severe burns over the majority of your body."**

'Kyu-neechan, it hurts so badly! Why does it hurt so much?!'

"**That's because, when your body couldn't handle the surge of chakra you got when you called out three of my tails it started searing off layers of your skin while my chakra started regenerating them. This created a constant cycle of destruction and regeneration, but finally my chakra was unable to further regrow the destroyed skin. It's going to take a day or so before your body can handle the strain again without risking a relapse of the cycle." **The demoness said with frustration in her voice. She really wished that Naruto had been more careful with the chakra, but there was little she could now but reassure him until his body had healed naturally a bit.

'As l-long as you can p-prevent a scar from sticking around, I'm gonna be f-fine…' Before he could say anything further, the blonde disappeared from the mindscape, the pain being far too much for him to bear any more and he thus fell unconscious once more.

* * *

A soft _clink-clatter-clink_ was heard throughout the clearing as Minato tossed the removed plate from Naruto's chest. He placed the cloak back over his son, noting that he had fallen unconscious due to the pain of the impromptu removal. "I'm so sorry Naruto… Please forgive me…"

The Yondaime Hokage looked back at his daughter one last time before facing his lover. She in turn faced him with her whole body.

"Are you sure that you want to end it like this, Minato?" she asked barely above a whisper.

He only responded to her question with a simple nod, the smoke almost completely obscuring his form from view.

She held up her hand before her as she closed her eyes. "Then, it's only natural that I do this with that jutsu I helped you create…"

The eyes of three people became the size of dinner plates as they witnessed something that should not have happened: one having never seen the jutsu in person, the other two never expecting anyone other than the Yondaime to know it. There, in the palm of Kushina's right hand, was a gathering of chakra. It started as a mass of still energy, slowly moving in all directions as it picked up speed. It tightened into a smaller orb as the bumps on its exterior smoothed out despite the increase of chakra flow. When the orb became so perfectly round, there seemed to be a whistling in the air as the Uzukage moved to stand not arm's length before Minato. "Do you have anything else that you wish either of our children to know? Any _true_ last words, Minato-kun?"

The smoke was starting to become darker as the last Hokage 'alive' spoke for the last time.

"Yes… Please tell them both that I'm very sorry for all of this, and that I would have done anything, even given Orochimaru the position of Hokage, if it meant I could have had a normal shinobi life with all of us as a happy family," he spoke, cracking evident in his voice despite the fog clouding his form. "And please… teach them everything I left behind… I know that, since you survived now, you surely took everything you could from my estate before you and Misaki-chan fled. So please, Kushina-chan… Teach our children everything I had ever created. And push Naruto-kun to complete the Rasengan, for I know he has the potential now that I've gotten the only chance I'll ever get to meet him."

Kushina used her free hand to wipe away the last tear she had from her eye as she closed the gap between them. "Of course I will Minato-kun. They will learn every jutsu you ever did, and they'll pass them down unto their children; all our work shall live through them and thus we shall all live on within the structure of our dream shinobi village."

Before anyone could say anything, the leader of the Beyond Land's End village pulled her arm back, focused a greater amount of chakra into the attack, and called out the attack's name as she drove it directly into the left side of her love's chest, directly into his heart and instantly killing him on impact. "Rasengan!"

All that were there watched on in awe and some with fear as they witnessed a horrific event occur.

The ball of chakra that had been launched impacted with Minato's chest, but before it actually came into contact with his body, there seemed to almost be a drilling motion tear open the skin. The drill seemed to flow just like the chakra within the orb and carved the way for the attack: through the skin, slicing the blood vessels, ripping the muscles, cracking apart the ribs, shredding the organs behind the bones, and doing the reverse of the first four actions.

All was silent as the body fell to the ground, the smoke fading with the resurrection jutsu's effects no longer necessary. All eyes were locked onto the gaping hole in the 'body' of Minato Namikaze, sans the cause thereof or those unconscious.

"Well, that explains why I never received any copies of jutsu he ever made," Orochimaru said, thus breaking the silence. "I always wondered why none of his work were put in the Hokage Archives, but now I see that you took them away with you, Lady Uzukage."

Kushina turned towards the traitor and her gaze froze him stiff. Her green eyes were flashing brightly as her demeanor turned cold, the air around her actually starting to become so cold that the moisture started to fall to the ground in solid lumps.

"You grew up in this village, you fought to defend it during the last war with Kumo… You started comiting crimes against humanity, starting with your own _genin students_… You use innocent civilians for you twisted plans, and when you've been overlooked for the position of Yondaime you throw a big pissy fit and bitch fest and leave… And then you return to this shithole after fifteen years to destroy… You've killed your old sensei, thus completing your fucking goal in life, and all you can think about now are Minato's _jutsus_?" Her eyes fixated directly onto his, jade onto gold, one set of pupils almost nonexistent in rage as the other set were starting to enlarge in fear. "I will give you to the time I finish charging this Rasengan. If you and your fucking cock-sucking play things you call shinobi aren't out of my sight by then, you'll find out exactly what an elemental Rasengan feels like… GETTING SHOVED UP YOUR ASS!"

By this time, every ninja in the area that was in front of the redheaded woman started backing away in an attempt to slowly make their getaway unscathed. The entire she was talking to the Snake Hermit, Kushina had been chilling the air around her even further and was now holding what looked to be another Rasengan but was significantly different: this one seemed to be an orb made of swirling streams of air and water, mingling as they zoomed in the confines of the Uzukage's chakra control.

With a snap of his fingers, the remaining shinobi that had arrived with him followed Orochimaru without so much as a second thought back towards the village, fully intent on keeping from receiving an icy Raasengan enema.

Orochimaru didn't look back as he and his remaining minions sped back to the destruction of his former home. 'How on earth did she manage to do _that_?'

"Orochimaru-sama…" came a soft voice from his right. The Snake looked out the corner of his eye to Kimimaro and noted his unusually riled up appearance. With a nod, the Kaguya continued. "Was that truly the woman that the Yondaime Hokage had been intent on marrying?"

'Yes, that truly was Kushina Uzumaki; I had been informed by my ally that his operatives had actually killed her after Minato had taken that blonde you saw to use as the container for the Kyuubi, but it appears as though there has been some miscommunication along the way from that night to my ears," Orochimaru said, his eyes narrowing at the fact that Danzo had clearly lied to him. "She was labeled as 'The Red Death' and the 'Crimson Vortex' during the last years that her home village of Whirlpool existed, before it was destroyed in the last war between all the nations."

"That explains why she knew of my clan: the only other village that knew of my kinsmen was Whirlpool according to the only book my clan held, and that was merely because Whirlpool was the guardian of the accessway to Mist." Kimimaro turned his gaze fully to the terrain and its ruined resources ahead of them. Apparently, Gaara had wasted no time in tearing through the village to get to his appointed spot with Sasuke for their fight at the Hokage Tower.

The three behind them looked around at the sand-covered carnage, noting that all that remained of any bodies were piles of blood and pieces of clothe that once were clothing of the recently slaughtered.

"Man, I may be a hypocrite after all those times I told Tayuya to never swear, but FUCK that Sand kid went overkill!" exclaimed the large boy with the orange Mohawk.

"Silence Jirobo! From now on, that name is to never be brought up in my presence!" hissed their leader. He didn't turn his head to enforce this order, as he knew that they already understood why. "I still can't believe that she was actually a triple-agent… I must have a _word_ with my dear assistant as soon as we return to Oto."

They soon came to the center of the village and found a very surprising sight. There, standing next to a boy with red hair, teal eyes that had black circles around them and a large gourd strapped to his back, was none other than Sasuke… with his Sharingan active as he stared Gaara right in the eyes while his hands were in his pockets.

The Oto shinobi came to a landing not far behind them but Sasuke didn't move to acknowledge their arrival. Orochimaru stepped forward and looked Sasuke directly in the eyes, a smirk threatening to crack his face in half after a moment of observation.

"So it would seem that you must have been there with the Kyuubi's vessel when he received those severe burns. I take it you were the one that caused them, Sasuke-kun?" he asked with a smile.

"Only in a small part did I cause that to happen. All I did was talk to him; when I had arrived to find him and his team, Naruto had already called on a third of the demon fox's total chakra. While he and I were talking about my choice to leave Konoha, his tails just suddenly exploded and started to burn him alive…" His voice trailed off as he closed his eyes. "Then, some women and their pet tiger came out of nowhere and got between me and Naruto. Funny thing was that, when the smaller one confronted me while the taller tended to Naruto, she used the relection off her dagger to show me that I had awakened my Sharingan finally. After that, they managed to use a sand bomb that Gaara," he said as he nodded his head at the younger boy, "sent my way as his attempt to tell me to hurry up to their advantage and made a getaway with Naruto in tow."

Orochimaru placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder as he spoke next. "Then it seems that former sensei was telling me the truth when he said that the hidden Uchiha scrolls had been discovered."

Sasuke's head snapped so fast to his master that, under normal circumstances, he would have just instantly killed himself by snapping his neck off his shoulders. "They were? Where are they? I must have them!"

"I'm sorry to say this but after Sarutobi studied them, he personally destroyed all the records hidden underground the Uchiha clan head manor. No copies were ever found, and most likely there never were any others aside from the originals."

Sasuke's eyes darkened at hearing this. A message had been found in the form of an encounter with his brother a week prior to Sasuke's departure for the chunin exams and Itachi had informed him of the scrolls that detailed how to unlock the only power that could beat his Mangekyo Sharingan, and that they still remained in the safety of the Uchiha compound of Konoha. But now, those scrolls, and thusly his only chance at avenging his clan by killing his older brother, were gone forever… Just like the parents and other family members he would never see again.

"But now there are things to be done, Sasuke." Orochimaru looked at the Sand ninja before him and gave a nod. Without a word, Gaara disappeared in a whirl of sand. Sasuke let out a depressed sigh as he took his spot amongst the remainder of the Sound Four, between Kimimaro and the one with six arms. "Oh, and before you ask, that foulmouthed redhead was, on top of being a spy for the Yamikage Socrie and that western village, but apparently she had even further secrets that Kabuto's _techniques_ hadn't even scratched."

"What do you mean, Orochimaru?"

The man sneered with disgust as he responded. "As it turns out, that bitch was apparently first a spy from a truly hidden village apparently formed under the leadership of the Kyuubi's mother, Kushina Uzumaki."

Sasuke was opening and closing his mouth in shock, but it would seem to any other person that he was just practicing his impression of a goldfish.

'Yes, apparently she _wasn't_ killed the day Naruto Uzumaki, the son of the Yondaime, was born but actually made out of the village in secret with the boy's twin sister and every single jutsu that blasted Minato ever created," Orochimaru hissed out, his eyes narrowing drastically into slits. "It has become apparent that she has formed her own village in an attempt to rebuild her homeland. She has done a remarkable job I must admit: not even those foolish Ankokugakure bastards knew of her village until today, and she had placed spies in their village as well as Konoha."

Orochimaru gave out a chuckle as Gaara returned to the top of the Hokage Tower but not alone. Instead of coming via his variation of the body flicker jutsu, the vessel for Shukaku returned to the center of the village riding atop a huge raccoon made of sand. What made the sight extremely disturbing were the hundreds of bodies that were sticking out from the racoon's arms, random limbs flailing about as screams and sobs eminated from their captivity. He smiled as Gaara released the transformation and released the Leaf civilians, but refused to let them get away as he used his sand to make a large wall to enclose them in a small area.

"There are your sacrifices. Now hurry up and finish this before Shukaku demands these pathetic fools for himself. Otherwise, I'm going to be giving Mother some more blood, and it won't be of the Leaf…" he let out in his raspy voice.

"Of course, of course. Thank you for your assistance Gaara. I'll be sure to keep up my end our _agreemtn_ as soon as I handle this." Orochimaru pulled his right sleeve up to his elbow and used a kunai to pierce his left thumb. Smearing the blood on a tattoo on his right arm, there was a very large puff of smoke, and seconds later Manda once again appeared in the human world.

"**I see you have my sacrifices this time Orochimaru…"** the huge summons said. Without a second thought, the boss snake dove down onto the tightly grouped hostages and swallowed them all in one mouthful. **"You even paid double; this shall give you one freebie for an event where you don't have the time to prepare, but only since you gave more than expected. Now what do you request of me?"**

"I need for you to destroy this pathetic village's Hokage Tower! Once that is complete, Konohagakure will no longer exist!" the Snake Sennin exclaimed, his arms flailing at his sides in emphasis.

"**Fine, I shall destroy the symbol for this village; after that I shall take my leave of you."**

Orochimaru smiled sickeningly as he signaled his ninja to scatter while Gaara simply vanished in a whirl of sand to who knows where. When he and his five top shinobi were several hundred feet away, Manda took his cue and started to signal that the invasion was over, that Konoha had been vanquished.

* * *

All across the village, the fighting stopped as loud rumblings started to echo throughout the area. The attention of every single ninja despite whatever village they came from, turned in the direction of the Hokage Tower to see the force of the destruction. Civilians were screaming as they felt the tremors from their hidden bunkers; Leaf shinobi were downtrodden and depressed as they witnessed the fall of their village, something they never thought woud have ever happened while the invading forces of Suna dn Oto were cheering and jumping for joy at their success. The remaining forces from Ankokugakure merely looked on with grim looks in their faces, knowing full well that an invasion such as this could feasibly succeed due to the Leaf council's overconfidence in their lax ninja.

The council had foolishly disregarded the advice and warnings that Jack had given concerning the Village Hidden in the Sounds. They refused to even accept the possibility of an invasion occurring during the chunin exams and therefore had no scruples with sending almost all their skilled jonin who had no genin teams out on missions. This had led to their greatest downfall: their 'greatest strength' was in the clans of the village and their combined efforts. Without the leaders of the clans, most Inuzuka were running around with almost no order, the Nara and Aburame barely able to get their clan allies of Akimichi, Yamanaka and Hyuuga to listen to them about what was going on.

The Hyuuga merely remained within their compound and had all their branch members stand along the walls while the elders and Hyuuga unable to defend themselves hid in the center of the mansion. As clan head, Hiashi was out on a clan-related mission to the capitol of the country to speak with the Daimyo, thus leaving the elder council in charge in his stead. This proved to be a truly fatal mistake as waves of Sand shinobi had besieged the Hyuuga estate, wind jutsu and puppets quickly dispatching the Branch Hyuuga as teams of Sound ninja moved in and decimated the congregation of innocents hiding away. Almost all the Hyuuga died within their home; the only ones not slaughtered were Hiashi, his two daughters as Hanabi had gone with him, and Neji.

* * *

Across the village from the clan compounds was what could be seen to be the Konoha hospital: only thing concerning people was the fact that the building seemed to be almost encased completely by a large glacier of ice or something.

Upon her arrival at the hospital, Amanda could clearly see that the invading shinobi were truly organized. This was made evident by the fact that, in front of the hospital stood five score of ninja armed to the teeth, all facing a single blonde kunoichi, with significantly ample cleavage. Not bothering to waste the time with introductions or threats, Amanda handed over Anko to the Slug Princess and flew through hand sign after hand sign until there was a sudden uprising of ice around the entirety of the medical building behind her. This effectively prevented any more attacks on the hospital, but it also prevented those needing immediate treatment from getting it.

"But what about-" Tsunade started, but was cut off simply with a firm voice.

"Look Tsunade, you may be a Sennin and all, but you truly must be a blonde from hair tips to the core of your brain if you can't see that it is far better for you to be able to work in quiet effort without constant interruptions rather than taking in as many casualties or injuries as possible while having to divide your available forces to defend and perform at the same time!" screamed the Darkness kunoichi. "It is much better to save those that you know you can save and preserve your facilities rather than to endanger yourself to attacks all the time just to try and heal a massive amount of injuries that may just end up wasting your time!"

During her whole spat with Tsunade, Anko had been connected to a blood-cleanser and was finally cleaned of the mamba poison that had been rotting her from the inside out.

Tsunade looked in her the eyes and huffed out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, but the instant this is over, you're releasing this glacier jutsu of yours. I have a duty to perform as a medic and I came here just for that reason."

"That's fine; no need to keep it going longer than needed anyways," Amanda replied, slumping into the chair next to Anko's bed. She gently placed her hand on top of the Lea jonin's, running her fingers over the material of her gloves.

* * *

Daisuke and his teammates soon found themselves surprisingly alone in the market district of what could only be called the Ruins of Konoha at this point. After they had witnessed the destruction of the Hokage Tower, all conflict abruptly came to a halt as all ninja bearing the hitai-ites of either Suna or Oto immediately fled the desolate place.

Kazuma tore off the strange weapons at his wrists and tossed them aside as Ruri wiped away the bodily fluids remaining on her hammers, Daisuke doing the same for his sharpened tonfa. They each felt around for any signs of life nearby. Daisuke thought he felt something and ran off in an apparently random direction leaving his teammates just shrugging their shoulders in exasperation.

"Anything yet guys?" Kazuma asked as he plopped won onto a rock that used to be a statue in the middle of the sidewalk.

Ruri shook her head as she slung her hammers back at her sides. "Nope, I'm not sensing anything."

"That means you two have lost your touch!" came Daisuke's voice. Both of his teammates turned and sensed what he was referring to instantly.

There, several yards away but approaching gradually was a cart of sorts on four wheels that seemed to move on its own.

"Turns out that the people that run the ramen stand we were eating at this morning were actually spies assigned to keep tabs onn Naruto for another village someplace. It's a true village, 'cause I've not even heard of it!" Daisuke said as he jumped off the top of the cart.

Two more figures appeared behind Daisuke in what appeared to be shinobi clothing, hitai-ites strapped around their right biceps. Both were wearing standard black pants and shirts with metal mesh underneathe, fingerless gloves reaching past their wrists with they wore basic black sandals. The girl that had served them this morning looked at Kazuma and Ruri with a serious look as her father stopped the cart behind them.

"I see that you were all able to make it out of the fighting relatively unscathed," Ayame said, the usual cheerfulness they had come to expect from her voice nowhere to be found.

"Yeah, we got the lucky end of the stick: it was the three of us against the two teammates of that one kid who has the Shukaku sealed in him. Only loss was some sweat and Kazuma's weapons," Daisuke said as he looked around again. "So I take it you and your father were able to get what you could before the stand was destroyed?"

Teuchi was about to answer when he turned around but was interrupted when a group of four Darkness shinobi and one Oto kunoichi made their entrance.

"Hey Daisuke, Ruri, Kaz. Looks like you guys didn't see much action," Kyle said with a smirk. Lisa elbowed him hard in the ribs as Nathan merely shook his head, his green streaks shining in the dimming daylight. Paul just kept his attention on the kunoichi he had wrapped in his chains rather than participate in his brother's antics.

"We did fairly well considering this all happened at least a month ahead of schedule. We hadn't even been given our assignment of where to go before the exams started this morning," Ruri said as she sat down where she stood, her red ponytail barely touching the ground. "That kunoichi Temari was a real bitch; my hammers were barely able to dent her fan. Kazuma's stupid-ass weapons were luckily able to pierce through it, but that was before the puppet-user Kankuro stepped in and had his puppet Crow occupy Kazuma. Daisuke was having to alternate between helping the both of us, but at least we didn't have any other ninja pop in on us."

Daisuke rubbed his temples remembering the fight. "I found it hilarious when Kankuro ended up wasting his chakra to reattach new strings to that overgrown piece of driftwood. I merely had to keep slicing them away when his puppet would overshoot me and I could get inbetween the two of them. The hard part was getting up close to Temari, what with her affinity being wind and all."

Kyle looked the two non-Ankoku shinobi over and saw the symbols on their hitai-ites. "What village are the two of you from? I've not seen that symbol before…"

"Indeed you haven't, but you may have seen this symbol before," Teuchi said as he placed his fingers over the jagged line on the bottom of the metal plate.

"Whirlpool? But that village was-"

"Destroyed during the last shinobi war? Of course it was. Our village was annihilated when almost all of our ninja were out on missions or providing assistance to Kiri in their civil war, otherwise we would still be Whirlpool." Teuchi lowered his hand and sighed. "But at least our Uzukage's lineage persisted, and now our village has emerged from Land's End as the Sakini Riku-ate no Sato."

A rustling in a nearby bush caught everyone's attention. Just as weapons were drawn, out of the bush stepped three young Academy-age kids, all wearing bandanas over their abdomens tied to pouches at their hips.

"Ah, I was hoping you'd have survived Konohamaru," Daisuke said as he walked up and knelt down to examine the boy.

"Dai-niisan, what's going on? What happened to our village?" Konohamaru asked meekly. "One moment we're practicing our kunai and shuriken aim with Iruka-sensei at the Academy, the next thing we know Ebisu showed up and attempted to haul us to the bunkers in the Hokage Monument."

Ruri stepped up and placed a hand on the boy's head as he looked at the gathered ninja, his companions still looking at their feet in fear. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but… Orochimaru, the student that your grandfather favored above all his others, invaded Konoha with the help of Sunagakure… All we know is that the invasion is over, and the Hokage Tower has been demolished…"

The three children all looked at Daisuke with tears threatening to pour of of their sockets, hoping that this was just a cruel joke. The vessel for Nibi heaved a sigh as he nodded his head. "I'm sorry Konohamaru, but it's very unlikely that your grandfather survived his fight with the Snake Sennin. That is the only thing that I can affirm, as his snake summons Manda destroyed the tower himself. The only comfort that I can give you is that your grandfather gave his life in his efforts to preserve this village…"

Moegi and Udon had already started to release their tears at the news silently while their 'fearless leader' stood there, his body racking with raw emotion. Before anything else happened, the boy named after the once-great Leaf village clutched Ruri by the waist and buried his face into her stomach, his tears unto her shirt.

Ruri paid no mind to it, knowing that the boy was merely latching onto something remotely familiar in a time of great distress. She started to pat the boy on the head as she sensed the other children hug Daisuke, the rest of the shinobi remaining silent.

Moments passed silently as they stood there in the remains of the village. As far as the eye could see, buildings were demolished, the occasional splattering of blood or the random body piece strewn about the rubble, weapons jutting out of any and every surface visible as clothing scraps fluttered in the small wind pass over the Leaf village.

The sound of footsteps approaching them alerted everyone to the arrival of unexpected company.

"I see you all seem to be relatively unharmed," Jack called out, sheathing his rapier as he came to stand before his sons. "And it looks like Paul managed to capture one of the enemy. Good work, son."

"Lady Uzukage!" Teuchi said, he and his daughter bowing their heads as Kushina, atop Byakko with Naruto and Hinata still unconscious on his neck, made her way to her spies. "We are glad to see you after all these years. We have done our best to provide for Naruto whenever possible without giving away our mission in the process."

"The village will be glad to have you back, Teuchi. Your skills in the kitchen and on the field have been missed by our ranks since our first home was decimated." The redhead got off Byakko and stood before the ramen chef and his daughter. "I am grateful for what you and Ayame-chan have done for me these past twelve years, looking after my son in my absence. I take it you have everything you want to take with you back to Sakini Riku-ate?"

"Yes, Lady Uzukage. Everything we couldn't get replaced back home is on our cart, though for the sake of time, I'm going to be sealing the cart itself rather than using up my chakra to move it the entire distance," Teuchi said as he walked back to the cart. With a set of three hand signs, the man placed both hands on the cart and it disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced with a small miniature version of it on the ground which he promptly picked up and placed in a kunai holster.

Kushina turned to Misaki and Tayuya, and noted Misaki's gaze fixated on the blonde atop Byakko's neck. She smiled as she walked to her daughter and placed a hand on the youngest redhead's. "Do not worry about your older brother Misaki; he'll be fine once the Kyuubi's chakra can start to perform without the risk of causing a relapse into the cycle. Until he's conscious, we're going to be staying here and helping the remaining forces prepare to leave."

At that, the eyes of the three Academy students shot up and locked onto the leader of the reformed Whirlpool village. "What do you mean, 'prepare to leave'?" asked Konohamaru, his voice cracking slightly.

Kushina sighed and faced the boy. "I'm sorry if you haven't heard this already, but not long ago, the leader of Otogakure, Orochimaru, succeeded in his mission to invade Konohagakure and eliminate his former sensei the Sandaime Hokage, your grandfather. As a sign of victory to all, he then demolished the Hokage Tower. After that, the combined forces of Oto and Suna removed themselves. At this time, the remaining elders of the village council have decided to swallow their pride and leave this wasteland and accept the offer of sanctuary in Aknokugakure, on the other side of the Yotsui Mountains, once all the dead have been buried and the survivors have gathered what they can to take with them."

"But what about getting our revenge?" cried out Konohamaru.

"At this time, the remnants of your village have nowhere near the strength to administer a retaliation attack on the combined forces of Oto and Suna." Jack stepped forward and looked the three children in the eyes as he continued. "For the moment, all refugees from Konoha are going to be welcomed into Ankoku as long as they see fit to stay. It is up to the clans if they wish to join us or go their own ways. I do believe that your uncle, Asuma, will be coming with us when my forces begin to take survivors back in groups."

Jiraiya kept to himself during all the conversations that soon followed as everyone began heading to the hospital, his mind occupied with the events he witnessed. 'First Orochimaru attacks, isolates me from helping Sarutobi, resurrects the dead Hokages, kills our sensei, and then destroys the Hokage Tower… Then there's the fact that Kushina is alive, killed her own lover and with his own attack no less, scared the fuck out of Orochimaru with a _mastered_ Rasengan… I don't if I'm even actually awake or if I got caught peeping on Tsunade and consequentially got my ass kicked halfway across the world and I'M NOW HANGING ONTO THE WORLD OF THE LIVING BY MY FINGERNAILS!!'

While Jiraiya was mentally examining the world around him to distinguish if he was losing his mind or not, the group of surviviors arrived at the hospital to find several ANBU working to apparently defrost the building.

Jack rubbed his face with his palm as Kommando couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Seems that Amanda did the only thing she could do to protect the hospital."

Just as said ice-kunoichi's students were about to speak up, there was an earth-shattering yell as a tremendous force was introduced to the glacier of ice encasing the medical facility.

"I told you I should have just done that in the first place: the damn ANBU were hardly putting a dent in your ice!"

"Hey, it's not my fault that the fucking morons don't know any fire jutsus more powerful than that lame Great Fireball! You'd think that, in the Land of _Fire_, the ninja of said country would know more than a damned C-rank fire-starter!"

The older four Darkness genin sweatdropped as they recognized their instructor, while Jack and Jiraiya both started looking around for escape routes. Kushina and her own small band of merry shinobi were impassive as two women walked through the tunnel that had been blasted by what could only have been a punch made by none other than the Legendary Slug Princess, Tsunade Senju.

"Well look what the hunter-nin dragged in!" Amanda called out upon spotting her students. She ignored Jiraiya as she approached her squad and noted Paul's captive, her eyes glistening. "Oh Paul, I see you brought me back a doggy-bag from the invasion!"

The Oto kunoichi blanched as Amanda glomped her and started rubbing the girls face against her chest. 'What the fuck has Kami got in store for me now…?' she thought to herself, attempting to keep her increasing blush down.

Tsunade stepped forward and looked at the group. She nodded to Jiraiya, ignored Jack, and froze when she saw three redheads, two young kunoichi and a woman in her mid to late thirties. She squinted to see against the remnants of the light, and her mouth almost made as big a dent in the ground as she had done to the ice wall moments ago. "I thought you had died shortly after giving birth to Naruto!"

"No, Tsunade; but I would have been had Minato been good enough to place a blood barrier seal on the floor under my hospital bed. By doing that, not only did he save my life, but also that of," she pointed at Misaki, "the life of our daughter, Naruto's younger twin, Misaki."

The eyes in the blonde Sennin's head almost fell out of her sockets upon hearing that. "You had _twins_!? Why didn't I sense a second fetus then?"

Kushina shrugged as she placed a hand gently on her son's face. "That is most likely because, even before being used to seal the demon fox, Naruto must have had an exceptional capacity for chakra. My only guess is that while still pregnant with them both that Naruto's system was developing much faster and thus cast a deceptively large shadow over his sister, hence preventing you from sensing two fetuses."

Tsunade then realized the forms on the white tiger were actually human and not merely packs or something else of the sort. She rushed over and almost shoved Kushina out of the way as she looked at the two genin. "Tell me what happened! If I can figure out what happened I might be able to save them."

"Well, you probably are going to be unsuccessful with saving Hiashi's first born: she was marked by your old teammate after I removed some of his playthings from this world," Kushina said as she stepped to be beside Tsunade. "We know that the survival rate is only one out of ten, and those of the ten percentile only make it because of their severe drive to break free of their chains and do anything to strike down those that oppressed them in life."

None of the group were about to speak upin retort, as most of them either didn't know the girl or knew her so well that she actually didn't completely fit those parameters.

"Though Hinata Hyuuga may have been mistreated after her mother's death by her father, and belittled by her own cousin Neji after his father gave up his life to save Hiashi, Hinata was never totally cast out of the light of her clan, not even when she started dating Naruto did she give up and do as her clan demanded. She was putting herself in a position that would prevent her from surviving the taint of the curse seal, unlike the children that Orochimaru takes in under his thumb that are orphans. Either by circumstance or his own doing, it appears as though the curse seal truly only works properly on those that have no familiar ties to hold them back in their journey for power."

"You can't be serious Kushina! How can you say that about a Hyuuga? They are the most competent ninja in the village, they aren't about to-" Tsunade was cut off as Kushina started in.

"Tsunade, you've been out of the village ever since Orochimaru acted like a damned baby about losing Hokage to Minato and Jiraiya left to write his fucking porn! You don't know what had become of the clan when Hiashi's wife died giving birth to Hanabi, you hadn't heard of how he had turned cold to everyone, including Hinata of all people! She had confidence isues, she stuttered, hell, she only achieved her goal of dating my son when Jack's ninja had finally _pushed_ them together not even three months ago!"

Tsunade was stupefied as Kushina continued.

"This girl may have had a chance at living through the marking if she hadn't realized her greatest goal to be with Naruto. If she had continued to be the shy wallflower that my spies told me she was, there is a very good chance that she would be conscious right now and hunting down Orochimaru to gain power. You know how the snake is at manipulating events to his will and using people; this was the perfect time for him to try and obtain an unsecured Byakugan, and he would have succeeded if it weren't for Fate having taken pity on her months ago," Kushina said. She folded her arms across her chest as she turned her gaze from the Hyuuga. "And besides, even if she were going to survive the marking, the way the seal works is by corrupting, if applicable, the bloodline of the person who gets it whenever they use their power. So, for Hinata, she would have undergone excruciating pain whenever she would have used her Byakugan. Her clan elders would have immediately either disowned her and sealed her eyes with that caged bird seal or she would have been killed. The last thing the Hyuuga would allow would be a Head Hyuuga to leave the village with unfettered eyes."

Tsunade dumbly nodded her head, the logic breaking through the shock. Quickly deciding to change the subject, she turned and looked over Naruto.

"He merely became overprotective of Hinata when she was about to be killed by a Sound ninja and called forth too much of the demon's power. It was stable for a little while until the last Uchiha arrived. That's when the three tails he had apparently backfired on him. That caused a cycle of destruction by the tail's energies and the regeneration of the Kyuubi's chakra to take place. Luckily, I got there soon enough to put some medicinal salve on his body, and then…"

She faltered as she relived the last act she had ever seen Minato perform for somebody else, tears threatening to break out at simply thinking about losing her love for the second time.

"And then, the last of Orochimaru's resurrected tools turned out to be Minato… I yelled at him for betraying me to save the village and leaving me alone with our daughter to raise as Naruto-kun was abandoned by absolutely everyone in the village including Jiraiya. He then removed the metal plate from Naruto's headband which had been fused to his skin during the Cycle, and then I released Minato from Orochimaru's jutsu. After that, the Snake ran for the hills, and you can figure out the rest…"

Tsunade could sense the sorrow in the redhead; she knew all too well that kind of feeling, so she decided against pressing the matter. She pulled away the cloak that covered Naruto and ran a glowing hand over his torso.

"Well, it seems that the cycle you described of the two aspects of the Kyuubi's chakra were reacting had some peculiar effects on your son…" Tsunade started. She looked at the place where the plate obviously had been removed as she went on. "Aside from the drastic rate of decay and replacement, the pure amount of unbridled demonic chakra running through his system all at once with little control is going to be showing signs of some unique changes in his physiology over the next few weeks or so. Just don't be surprised if he begins to appear more… _beastial_ or acting differently: it's going to just be a side-effect of overloading his coils like he did."

At this point Misaki had gotten off her tiger while Tayuya just continued to people-watch everyone from the orange tiger's back. She was standing next to her mother as the Slug Sennin said the last few statements, and she couldn't help but interrupt. "What kind of changes are you talking about, Lady Tsunade?"

"Unfortunately, I can't really tell since it's a result from demon chakra, something that is truly unpredictable. The only thing that I can possibly discern is that he may experience changes like in his eyes, his perception of the world such as his ears, nose, or nose, there's just a whole number of things. The weirdest thing I could tell you to expect is for him to suddenly have his ears be on top of his head and fox-like rather than what they are now."

"Well, no matter; he is my son and even if he became the Kyuubi itself, he will always have a home and a loving mother and sister," Kushina said.

Tsunade smirked at the redhead, a sparkle in her eyes. "Well, if he continues to draw on the demon's chakra uncontrollably like this, there is a very high probability that Naruto could become one with the Kyuubi… if he survived the absorption of it's chakra that is."

Before anyone could say anything further, there was a bright flash of red that proceeded to surround Naruto's body. Tsunade could see him starting to stir, and also that the aura was actually the Kyuubi's chakra starting to heal. Not wanting the boy to be in shock, she quickly put him under the effects of a sleep genjutsu.

"I appreciate that, Tsunade-sama," came a voice from the other side of the white tiger. All eyes and faces turned towards its source as the spectral projection of the Kyuubi appeared.

"What the fuck…?" muttered Tayuya. Her jaw threatened to unhinge at the sight of yet another redhead.

The shinobi who hadn't seen the projected form of the Kyuubi were in awe, especially a certain Pervy Sage, Slug Princess, and Uzukage and daughter. Jiraiya would have started taking notes at the speed of light if this were at a hot spring and the woman he saw didn't have fox features ranging from ears to the nine swaying tails, signifying that she was _the_ Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"I am sorry for causing such a ruckus, but it was necessary for me to take a moment to apologize for letting Kit draw too much of my chakra at once. He was able to control just a small fraction of it on his mission to Wave, but that was only a single tail while he tried to control three this time," the woman said. She swished her tails as she placed a spectral hand on Naruto's head and started to stroke his cheek. "Since he used such a large amount of my chakra with no practice at it as well as without any form of a plan, Naruto will surely find his physical appearance to be altered within a month at the most."

"Do you have any idea of hat exactly we should be expecting?" Kushina asked tentatively. She would much rather have even a small clue as to what to expect her son to start sprouting so as to be able to comfort him when he would inevitably begin freaking out.

"I'm sorry, Kushina-kaasan, but even I can't be sure how his body will react to my demonic chakra," Kyuubi said softly.

'Did the most powerful of all demons call me _kaasan_?' was the only thing that Kushina could register at that moment in time. Before anyone else could say a word, Kyuubi bowed deeply to them all, and with a soft word of farewell she disappeared from sight.

The group of shinobi broke out of their dazes as they realized that the vison of the demon fox was no longer around. Jack looked at his shinobi, noting with a sweatdrop that Amanda was almost suffocating the prisoner in her cleavage.

It was at this point that a group of shinobi made their appearance in front of the hospital, bringing the collective attention of everyone unto them.

Just as Jiraiya was about to speak, there was a blur of white clothes and dark hair as two figures flocked immediately to the large white tiger. Just as the taller of the two was about to remove Hinata's limp body, a pair of redheads blocked their way. Byakko backed away and stood by the smaller summons as Jacked placed his hand up to prevent his sons' team from interfering.

"What is the meaning of this!? I go on a mission to the capitol, and come home to first find the village in ruins, then my clan compound had been ravaged with all but two members slaughtered, and now I come to find my first born daughter in the hands of a woman that should be **dead**!" screamed Hashi.

Hanabi was furiously trying to get past Misaki to reach her big sister, fear and panic in her eyes as clear as day, but the smallest redhead was clearly more powerful than the younger Hyuuga sister. "Lemme go! I want my oneechan! Hinata-neechan, please wake up! I need you!"

Hiashi moved to side step Kushina but found her hand clamping down firmly on his shoulder to prevent him from moving. "Hiashi, I did not appreciate your tone of voice just now. I can understand your position better than you think, but that does not entitle you to act irrationally like this. I know you can restrain yourself better than this."

"Let go of me now, Uzumaki," the man hissed through clenched teeth.

"That's Uzukage-sama to you, Hyuuga." Kushina released him, but made a movement of her hand that Hiashi didn't notice to Byakko.

When Hiashi came within arm's length of the white tiger, Byakko growled as he backed away. This went on for another three tries until he finally turned back and walked back to the eldest redhead. "Tell your summon to give me back my daughter, you traitor! I will not tolerate being toyed with right now!"

"Then calm your fucking ass down and listen to what I have to say, and then listen to what Tsunade must tell you!"

"Why should I listen to a couple of overgrown kunoichi?"

"Now people wonder why your daughter had issues with her self-image and her lack of confidence? This is exactly why your beloved Hinata, the girl you despised and turned away every chance you got after your wife died giving you Hanabi is going to most certainly die from the curse seal that Orochimaru placed oner neck!"

The air in the area turned eathly cold as the words Kushina just uttered sank into the minds of all the newcomers. Two bodies fell to their knees as the rest of the clan heads of Konoha looked on in horror at the news.

"Hin-Hinata's going to…"

Hiashi failed to finish the question as his body completely shut down from utter shock. He fell face first into the ground before him as Hanabi sunk to her knees and grasped weakly at Misaki's pants, each hand keeping a fistful of the material.

* * *

**Well, that sure took a lot of effor to write out but man, that sure felt good to finally get those ideas out of my head and onto the site!**

(dodges all manners of flying objects)

**I know that a good majority of you are scremaing bloody murder, but I felt that _someone_ had to break the fairytale rut that has befallen _Naruto_ fanfiction. Seriously, it sometimes just gets boring reading the same plotline all over again but with a few small changes, such as who gets what, who does who, where does that happen while this happens over near that place, why does Naruto have so much power or why is Naruto so weak, that kind of thing. Hence, why I have been throwing all these curve balls at you guys.**

**Because I'm breaking the mold, and this is still merely the beginning...**

**Alrighty folks, have a good night or day or whatever time of day it is for you when you read this, and please leave your thoughts in the form of a review.**

Because that's what us FFN authors live off of, is your reviews! The more reviews we get, the healthier our minds stay and the better our stories become! So feed your starving writers, please!

(On a side note, please a: visit my profile and vote on my poll, and b: take a look at my NaruTayuya fic _Fluter & the Misfti_ if you aren't a staunch NaruHinata fan)

* * *

Story Stats as of 08/17/2008:

Time elapsed since first posted: just under 6 months  
Number of chapters thus far: 33  
Number of words thus far: 142,587  
Number of reviews thus far: 111  
Number of hits thus far: 28,738  
Number of C2s listing this fic: 5  
Number of people labeling this under 'favorite': 44  
Number of people with this fic/myself on alert:46


	34. You Say Goodbye, We say Hello

(Itachi is in the middle of the stage on a DDR mat with his back to the crowds as he watches the screen fly by in front of him, the Canon-Cannon off to the side with smoke still spewing from the multiple barrels)

Itachi: I'm a Barbie-girl, in a Barbie world-

**HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Never thought I'd see you doing **_**that**_** song Itachi!**

(Itachi freezes and thus loses the game, a large sweatdrop forming on the back of his head)

Itachi: I can't help it! After we expect to be torn apart by the masses for what you wrote and all we get is words of praise and admiration, how can I _not_ want to party?

**I think it's just that you wanted to do that song because you saw former President Clinton doing it last week on **_**Family Guy**_**. Let's just hope you don't develop his other eccentricities…**

(Itachi visibly shudders at that thought)

Itachi: No thanks…

(tachi goes back to dancing 'Barbie Girl' on the DDR pad)

**Hey, isn't that the 'shinobi' model? Why aren't you using the three other panels?**

Itachi: Because I'm too lazy to go through the work of putting up the other pads as the walls and ceiling…

**Haha! **

Itachi: Today's installment of _Beyond the Darkness of Fate_ is brought to you by 'Dance Dance Revolution: Shinobi-mania'! Get yours today and increase the difficulty of the game by having to use your chakra to stick to either of the newly-designed vertical pads on each side of your or the pad above your head! Fun for all ages!

* * *

_Two days after the successful invasion of Konoha - _

Deep within the recesses of the mountain that was the true village of Oto, Orochimaru was currently in his large stone office staring down the two men standing before him. One an old man with an eye patch and a crutch, the other with glasses and standard shinobi attire.

"Do either of you have any idea as to why I have summoned both of you before me?" the Otokage asked indifferently. He knew that neither of them knew, but remained in control of his emotions to examine their reactions and see what they thought.

Both men were in the dark as to why they had been brought forth by Orochimaru, but neither of them were about to acknowledge anything that could endanger their lives unnecessarily.

"The reason you both have been summoned to stand here is simplek," he started. He stood up and purposefully made his way to stand on the bottom step of his dais just before the two. "You have both failed to fully execute your roles within my service, and seeing as how my plans to destroy Konohagakure were successful I'm feeling malevolent today. Thus, you will each have _one_ chance to explain to me why it is that I should not kill you both here and now. Starting with you Danzo."

"Danzo, ever since I abandoned Konoha after I was overlooked for becoming the Yondaime Hokage, you were my connection within the council and my arms within the village via your ROOT division. I never asked too much of you, just leak the goings-on with the village." He moved to stand between the two men, continuing. "The only time I ever asked for you to do something aside from pass on some tidbits of information, and your men failed to accomplish a simple assassination!"

Danzo's lone eye visibly widened. "You c-can't mean that-"

"YES! Your operatives were unsuccessful in removing Kushina Uzumaki from this world the day she gave birth to the Yondaime's heir! And worst of all, not only is she _alive_, but she managed to flee the village with all of Namikaze's life work! She also apparently gave birth to not just the vessel for the nine-tailed fox, she also gave birth to a girl. And," he said as he turned to face Kabuto, a large frown upon his face, "this is where your failure comes in, Kabuto."

The Snake Sennin stepped back up to the top of the dais and faced them again, his eyes fixating on the silver-haired spy. "My dear Kabuto, you may have realized this already, but I appear to be one kunoichi short of a full Sound Four team. Aren't I?"

Kabuto simply nodded his head as he intently watched his master's unwaivering mood.

"The reason that Tayuya did not come back with us is not because she was killed during the invasion, but because…" he said as he walked back and placed his face merely an inch from his right-hand ninja, "You. Failed. To. Discover. She. Was. A. Spy."

Kabuto didn't allow his face to show his surprise at that. He was about to ask what could Orochimaru be possibly meaning but was abruptly prevented from speaking as his master continued his rant.

"Yes, your serums were able to make her talk about her position within our village as a spy for that damnable Jack Socrie from Ankokugakure, they failed to have her reveal the fact that she, a mere child when I found her deep within Iwa territory, was in truth a spy that had been placed in that western village by the very woman that Danzo failed to kill, who had gone off after leaving Konoha and _made her __**own**__ village_!"

The Otokage seethed as he made his way back to his large marble chair atop the platform and took several calming breaths. He closed his eyes as he spoke again, not wanting to lose control of his emotions in such a fashion at the moment.

"In the aftermath of mer lover having sacrificed himself and damning her first born child to a living hell in the village she escaped to fromWhirlpool's destruction, Kushina Uzumaki took everything Minato could leave her as well as their younger daughter Misaki and gathered the remnants of that blasted village she was born in. Not only that, but she also has raised a village from the depths of the ocean and has successfully kept this… Sakini Riku-ate off the radar of every single shinobi nation, on either side of the Ygotsui Mountains! I did find some hilarity in the fact that the Yamikage was just as… in the _dark_ as I was about this village of hers."

The man atop the platform slowly opened his eyes, the lights causing the gold in them to sparkle brightly as he smirked at his subordinates. "You are now both going to have on chance at explaning to me why it is I should not kill you or turn you into my next experiment, starting with you, Danzo." His hand pointed to the old warmonger as Kabuto took a step to the side in the event that their master decided to kill him in a rather gruesome manner.

Danzo did his best to keep his composure as he took a moment before speaking. "Lord Orochimaru, when you requested that I have two of my operatives remove the Uzumaki woman from the picture, I placed two of my men that were desperate to prove themselves in my eyes. I told them that failure was not an option in this endeavor, as it was a request from a higher authority than myself and that that authority would greatly reward whoever accomplished the mission."

"The day after the assault upon our village that left us with Sarutobi-teme as the Hokage once again, my operatives presented me their written reports concerning the mission. They each had written a report, both very different."

"But you only sent me _one_ report, Danzo…"

"That is because, Orochimaru-sama, I failed to-"

Before Danzo was able to finish that current train of thought, Orochimaru vanished from his chair and reappeared behind the former councilman of Konoha, his arm wrapped around the man's neck.

"Wrong answer, Danzo. I don't tolerate failure in even the simplest of task. But I will be lenient, and grant you a swift and painless death for all your years of service in providing me the sufficient means in which to accomplish my vengeance against the Leaf."

As he spoke, the Snake Sennin increased the pressure his arms was placing on the ROOT leader's neck and snapped it like a twig. He released his former servant and let the body hit the floor as he resumed a sitting pose on the chair, his elbows resting on his knees as he supported his head on his folded hands under his chin.

'Now, Kabuto… Please enlighten me as to why I shouldn't bestow a similar consequence unto you?" the man said, his eyes narrowing. Failure from a pawn outside his immediate gaze was expected every now and then, but for one of his most crucial operatives to have committed failure and right before his _eyes_! He would need an _exceptionally_ valid reason to not eliminate Kabuto.

The silver-haired 'genin' took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"The only explanation as to the serum's inability to force the girl to expound _fully_ on her prior allegiances is either that the serum itself was not strong enough since it was merely meant for a child we thought unable to grasp the concept of lying or that she was more capable than most adults who had proper training at concealing their deepest secrets. In the future, it may be wise to utilize the same dosage upon all recruits, despite their ages or other pre-existing conditions, in order to prevent a similar event from happening again."

The man before Kabuto smirked as he leaned back into his chair. "So, you're saying that it's not just your mistake that Tayuya was a triple agent and we were uninformed, rather that it was _our_ faults? Please, expound on your reasoning…"

The young traitor looked his master straight in the eyes as he continued with his only chance at living beyond this meeting. "I am only stating that those of us making the decisions about how to go about conducting the tests on the recruits should not have been lenient in our examinations merely because of a recruit's physical condition or how old they were and should have just given every one of them the same dosage of the serum."

Orochimaru laughed out loud as he stood. He moved down the stairs and stood in front of Kabuto, his hands placed on his servan'ts shoulders. They stood like that for several moments, Kabuto keeping as calm as possible as he maintained unfaltering eye contact with the man that had given him a true purpose in life; Orochimaru was in turn searching the eyes that gazed at his, scouring the depths of his soul for the truth. Orochimaru finally broke the silence as he stpped away and back to stand atop the dais.

"Very well Kabuto, you are being completely honest with me, unlike that vermin Danzo. Though he never truly was satisfied with being a pawn, he knew his place. You however are no mere pawn in my plans: with your gifts you bypassed the front lines of my plans and became what is called the bishop, a piece in the game that moves around the other pieces on the field, much like the two most powerful pieces but unable to confront the enemy in a head-on encounter as you instead blindside them." Kabuto resisted the urge to gulp as he noticed his master place his hands behind his back. "And that is why I'm going to give you a chance at evading death today."

The snake-master calmly walked back down the stairs, hands still behind his back. "Behind my back are my hands, each hand is holding an object. Your only chance, is to choose which hand holds the correct item." Upon noting a glimmer in the man's eye, he went on, stopping a foot in front of him. "The two items I hold are pieces from a shogi board, one a pawn, the other a bishop. Your choice determines your fate."

He held his arms out before him and his hands clenching the pieces with palms down. "If you choose the pawn, you will be reduced to being my next experiment which could very easily end your life on the operating table, but the bishop will grant you amnesty for the oversight of the past and place you back into your role as my assistant. But there is a catch with the fate of the bishop, just as with the fate of the pawn: at any time, if any more failures arise due to your incompetence, I will not hesitate in furthering my wait for an Uchiha vessel to be ready and instead take _yours_ as my next body."

The tension in the air intensified as the man who had been brought into Oto in the very beginning as a mere Academy-age child stared down at the hands that held his fate. He only had this one opportunity: either retain his rank and have the fate of being consumed by the jutsu-hungering man he called master looming over his head forever more, or he could pick the piece that guaranteed him a more torturous fate as a living experiment of mismatched body parts and untested weapons…

"Hurry Kabuto, before I make the decision for you…" came Orochimaru's taunting voice, a smirk on his face as he raised his hands upward.

With a small sigh, Kabuto closed his eyes and lifted his hand from his side, and slowly tapped one of Orochimaru's clenched fists.

The Snake Sennin smiled with sickening glee as he opened his hand and released the shogi piece, allowing it to fall to the floor and show Kabuto his fate.

The silver-haired man opened his eyes as he saw the piece hit the floor with a _clunk-clatter_…

* * *

_A week after the invasion back in the Konoha Hospital – _

Over the course of the last week, the able-bodied survivors of the invasion had salvaged what they could of the village as graves were prepared for the deceased. The clan heads who had returned with Hiashi had half of their remaining clansmen work on preparing the grave sites while the rest aided the rest of the ninja ranks in essentially ransacking the ruins for everything that was still functional or of value, sans the ruins of the Hokage Tower and the adjoining ANBU headquarters: those facilities were strictly off-limits to all but the Slug and Toad Sennin, the Yamikage and the Uzukage to search through.

Tsunade and her assistant Shizune (whom, for some reason, had been having a hard time locating her sensei when a messenger hawk had arrived one day for Tsunade) were almost done preparing the injured survivors for their departures from the once-great Konoha. Luckily, the bunkers deep within the Hokage Monument had not been discovered, or else there would have been scores more injured and or dead to handle. The two wandering medics and the remainder of the hospital staff had been so busy with the injured for the first three days after the invasion that Tsunade was actually too tired to drink a drop of sake, even with Shizune trying to pass her a vintage bottle she'd been hiding.

Jiraiya and Jack had spent most of their time coordinating with the remaining Insane Devils: they had to make sure that everything was going to be running smooth for the refugees. They had sent out groups of ten to make encampments along the route spaced out a day's travel apart from each other. The survivors that were unable to still move on their own by the time it came to depart were going to be accompanied by Jack and his sons' team, and Shizune; the second day's group would travel with Anko (who had been cleansed completely by the second day after the invasion), Daisuke's genin team and Kommando; the group for the third day would be led by Jiraiya and the clan heads from Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka; on the last day, Tsunade would lead the last group with the clan heads of Inuzuka and Aburame as well as the remaining jonin instructors including Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai, Genma and Asuma, the last group bringing along with them each encampment of Insane Devils.

Above all the others who had survived, those with the deepest wounds were now divided by a great distance but their hearts were still acting as if they remained side by side. The Uzumaki had departed from what remained of Konoha the morning of the second day after the invasion, leaving the last of the Hyuuga to deal with their pains alone and mourning.

* * *

_The day of and subsequent night after the invasion happened – _

Just as Jiraiya was about to speak, there was a blur of white clothes and dark hair as two figures flocked immediately to the large white tiger. Just as the taller of the two was about to remove Hinata's limp body, a pair of redheads blocked their way. Byakko backed away and stood by the smaller summons as Jack placed his hand up to prevent his sons' team from interfering.

"What is the meaning of this!? I go on a mission to the capitol, and come home to first find the village in ruins, then my clan compound had been ravaged with all but two members slaughtered, and now I come to find my first born daughter in the hands of a woman that should be **dead**!" screamed Hashi.

Hanabi was furiously trying to get past Misaki to reach her big sister, fear and panic in her eyes as clear as day, but the smallest redhead was clearly more powerful than the younger Hyuuga sister. "Lemme go! I want my oneechan! Hinata-neechan, please wake up! I need you!"

Hiashi moved to side step Kushina but found her hand clamping down firmly on his shoulder to prevent him from moving. "Hiashi, I did not appreciate your tone of voice just now. I can understand your position better than you think, but that does not entitle you to act irrationally like this. I know you can restrain yourself better than this."

"Let go of me now, Uzumaki," the man hissed through clenched teeth.

"That's _Uzukage-sama_ to you, Hyuuga." Kushina released him, but made a movement of her hand that Hiashi didn't notice to Byakko.

When Hiashi came within arm's length of the white tiger, Byakko growled as he backed away. This went on for another three tries until he finally turned back and walked back to the eldest redhead. "Tell your summon to give me back my daughter, you traitor! I will not tolerate being toyed with right now!"

"Then calm your fucking ass down and listen to what I have to say, and then listen to what Tsunade must tell you!"

"Why should I listen to a couple of overgrown kunoichi?"

"Now people wonder why your daughter had issues with her self-image and her lack of confidence? This is exactly why your beloved Hinata, the girl you despised and turned away every chance you got after your wife died giving you Hanabi is going to most certainly die from the curse seal that Orochimaru placed on her neck!"

The air in the area turned deathly cold as the words Kushina just uttered sank into the minds of all the newcomers. Two bodies fell to their knees as the rest of the clan heads of Konoha looked on in horror at the news.

"Hin-Hinata's going to…"

Hiashi failed to finish the question as his body completely shut down from utter shock. He fell face first into the ground before him as Hanabi sunk to her knees and grasped weakly at Misaki's pants, each hand keeping a fistful of the material.

"It would seem that the village council was truly foolish in refusing to adhere to the sound advice of the representatives of Ankokugakure when informed that Orochimaru was most assuredly going to invade the village," came a monotonous voice from the high collar of the Aburame clan head Shibi. His eyes hid behind the same dark lenses his son's did as he took inventory of the attending shinobi before turning to follow his insects to where Shino and the remaining Aburame clan were at.

"Fuck, I knew I smelled battle in the air!" yelled a woman with unruly black hair and red face paint. Tsume Inuzuka threw her arms over her head. "Fucking council! They should never have sent us out on those recon missions…" Her rants died away as she and her dogs, along with her oldest daughter Hana, made their way in the direction from where Kiba's scent was lingering.

"Wow, look at all this… Everything from the place where Ichiraku was to the barbeque place at the other end of the boulevard and in between is smashed!" called out Choza, his bo staff dropping as fast as his jaw. "Even the dango restaurant didn't deserve this!"

Shikaku placed a comforting hand on his former genin partner's shoulder as he gave out a simple mutter of 'troublesome. Invasion'.

Inoichi started looking around at the debris and saw that his flower shop had been oblitereated, all the way down to the foundation. His eyes almost burst out of their sockets with tears at that but he punched himself in the shoulder to prevent it. The first generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio pulled themselves together and started back towards the hospital to locate their own kids, and hopefully more of their families.

"Well, I think it's time we get settled down for the night: we have a lot of work ahead of us, and the sooner we do it, the sooner we can leave this wasteland behind us," Jack said as he motioned for his shinobi to follow him. Kyle's team, along with Amanda and her 'toy' started after him while Daisuke looked at his team.

"Hey Jack! Is it alright if me and my team stay with Naruto and the others from Sakini Riku-ate? Just in case?" the shades-wearing genin asked.

"It's fine with me as long as you don't get in Kushina's way, or any of the redheads for that matter," the Yamikage called back over his shoulder with a wave.

Jiraiya sighed as he looked at the remains of his pupil's family as they dismissed their summons, Misaki picking up Hinata's body and gently carrying her over the shoulder as her mother picked up Naruto and cradled him against her. "I'll grab Hiashi and bring him in, then I need to examine that curse seal on Hinata's neck to see if I can do anything to give her a fighting chance."

Tsunade picked up the still sobbing form of Hanabi as she silently nodded, inclining her head for everyone to follow her back into the hospital building.

Moments later and the assembled ninja were in what would have normally been two separate rooms fit for two, maybe three people at most but the wall was knocked down to increase the capacity for the influx of casualties. Kushina and Misaki sat in chairs alongside Naruto's bed as Tayuya stood against the wall on the opposite side. Hinata was currently on an examination table with Jiraiya staring at the mark on her neck, her little sister sitting on the edge of the bed her father had been placed on. Daisuke and his two teammates were spread around the room as Kommando stood in the doorway with Tsunade rubbing her temples next to him.

"Any luck yet, Jiraiya?" the Slug Princess asked tiredly. She was exhausted, but with how many injured there were she was going to be getting very little sleep the next couple days minimum.

"I'm looking at this mark, but I'm not finding any point in it that I can fracture the seal… It looks as if Orochimaru had been attempting to embed some of his tainted chakra into her, to influence her into coming to him for power…" the Toad Sage said as he looked up and scratched the back of his head. "I don't think she's going to make it at this point: the best we can hope for is that she passes on silently, or at least wakes up to say good bye to her loved ones for them to get some form of closure…"

Tsunade looked over the room once again before she turned to leave. "Alright then. If anything happens, send one of the genin to come find me. I have more patients to tend to before I can get some meager amount of sleep before tomorrow's workload appears."

Jiraiya took a seat on the floor under the window as Hanabi stood up and stepped to be next to her sister. Gingerly, she placed her hand over the mark and traced it with her fingers, noting the design. "Why would anyone want to give onee-chan something so bad that could kill her…?"

"It's not that my old teammate wants to _kill_ your sister, it's that he wants to use her as a tool, and the only way he could get her to join him was to give her that mark but she only had a one in ten chance to live through the process." Jiraiya rubbed his face with both hands and looked at the floor between his feet as he explained Orochimaru as best he could to a seven year old. "Orochimaru was never one for social niceties and always lacked charisma when it came to getting people to listen to him after his parents died when we were young Academy students. He went mad in a way in his pursuit to achieve his goal to know all the jutsus in the world, which led him to commit great crimes against not just his own students or his home, but to all of humanity at this point."

"So he's being a selfish bully just because he didn't have either of his parents while growing up?" the young Hyuuga survivor asked innocently, her eyes becoming shadowed as her face looked down at her sister. "Sounds like he should have been set straight when his bad behavior started manifesting…"

"Yeah, you're right, but our sensei, the Sandaime, couldn't see that his star pupil was hurting everyone around him. His teammates, his teacher, his students, his own village… And then, when Sarutobi announced his retirement and the council had to appoint a new Hokage, they overlooked Orochimaru's nomination by our former sensei and instead chose the father of the boy that your sister had been dating these last couple months. Shortly thereafter, the Legendary Sannin were broken apart from being three great comrades in arms to being two old friends from the Academy and one traitorous snake. Since then, I've barely been able to keep tabs on him, not knowing about his village until he had already recruited some of the most bizarre and unique shinobi alive."

"Fuck, I remember when he gave me the curse mark when he first ran across me," started in Tayuya. She looked at Jiraiya and then at Kushina as she went on. "It was shortly after Jack had planted me in the guise of an orphan outside a small rundown village in Iwa: I ended up getting picked up first by this old bat who was going to use me to her own ends. Having me pick pockets, stealing from shops, sneaking into people's houses when they weren't home, the works. Hell, after a month of that, she introduced me to alleyway servicing."

The two other redheads both clenched their fists as the hair on the backs of their necks shot on end and Hanabi just gave them questioning looks, but Tayuya just continued on her way. "Thankfully I was too young for providing full benefits, but that didn't mean I couldn't suck a guy off. I really wish the Snake bastard hadn't taken so long in his recruitment trip. But at least he finally came before I was about to shove a kunai into each of the crazy she-bat's orifices. Though his timing could have been better, he at least was able to prevent a 'customer' from raping me. He then left and the next thing I know, another guy is coming after me for killing his friend, and I run. "

"When I get backed into another alley across the village, I took out my flute and used a genjutsu that one of the jonin in Ankoku had taught me. It was a D-rank one, but perfect for untrained civilians to scare them off. After that second jack-off split, Orochimaru returned and offered to give me 'the strength and power' to protect myself in the future from situations like that. On the inside I was scowling and wanting to shove my flute up his nose into his brain and blow the mush out his ear with a shrill melody I knew, but the missions I wyuy on called for me to cooperate and convince him I was willing to do anything. Luckily, I met the conditions to survive the damned seal he put on my neck."

Hanabi stared at Tayuya as she ran her hand up to her sister's face and brushed her bangs away. "What was it that made you able to survive this seal that is going to make my oney-chan not survive it?"

Tayuya let out a sigh, slumping down to the floor. She pulled her flute out and looked determinately at it as she answered. "It's rather simple but also it's rather sad. In essence, you have to really have no one to call close, no ties to anything that may hold you back from living through the pain of loneliness, and the urge to become so strong that no one could hurt you as you had been hurt when you were first given the mark."

Kushina stood up at this point and made her way to stand behind Hanabi, not paying attention to the rustling form of Hiashi as she made her way. "But when you look at your sister's situation, her fate is both a blessing and a curse at the same time."

Hanabi looked at the Uzukage with a confused look in her eyes as the woman elaborated. "Her death is a curse to those of us close to her because she is going to leave behind holes in all of your hearts, something that may not heal for years if it does at all. Naruto himself will be devastated, but your father even more so. I'm not sure about you or your cousin Neji, but those two will possibly miss her the most."

"But on the other hand, her death will be a blessing because we won't have to face the pain of losing her to Orochimaru's clutches when she would have gone to him in search of power," Jiraiya said with a bit of depression in his voice.

Kushina nodded at this as she placed a hand on Hinata's forehead. "Indeed, that is why her death is going to be both a blessing and a curse to us. And according to my information," she said as she turned and returned to Naruto's bedside, "if Naruto hadn't been shown how badly she was crushing on him, _Daisuke_, then there is the high probability that Hinata would more than likely have survived due to her having met all the possible conditions to survive being given the curse mark…"

The smaller Hyuuga daughter moved to stand across from Kushina at Naruto's bedside. She looked down at the boy as a red pulsating glow seemed to be emitting from his body. "So, his being onye-chan's boyfriend has in the end saved her life…?"

Misaki stood up from her chair and placed a comforting hand on Hnaabi's shoulder. "I may not have even been able to talk with my brother yet, but from what I've read in all the reports our spies have sent along with what Kaa-san has told me of how he was during her short trips to see over him, I wouldn't put it past him to avert the pain in his life and help others be happy…"

It was at this time that Hiashi managed to stumble out of his bed and over to the exam table. His eyes focused on Hinata as he activated his Byakugan, recoiling from what he saw going on in her body.

"So I see that you finally understand why we were trying to get you to calm down?" Kushina said as she didn't face the Hyuuga clan head. "I would never wish this upon any parent, but at least she is going to pass on peacefully."

Hanabi ran to her father and buried her face into his stomach while her arms wrapped around his waist. He used one hand to tentatively rub the back of his younger daughter's head as his other hand grasped Hinata's left hand, feeling the drastically weakened pulse as it was further diminishing.

"I saw… a veil of evil chakra consuming her coils…" he said as he looked at her calm face, thankful that she couldn't feel the pain of what was happening to her body.

"Such is to be expected when a developed chakra coil system is exposed to a foreign chakra from outside the body in such a manner," Jiraiya said as he stretched his arms. "It's rather disturbing that my old teammate has come up with something this… perverse, but then again, it's only logical considering what he used to do while he was still loyal to the village."

As they were talking, Misaki stepped closer to Naruto's bed and placed a soft hand on his skin, feeling the pulse of the demon fox's chakra working to heal him and also change him at the same time. 'Naruto-niisan… please wake up soon…'

Tayuya put her flute away as she looked to the ceiling, her thoughts drifting back on her memories. 'After all those years… I'm finally going to be able to call some place a true home… I can't wait to start my new life, with people that won't always be threatening me or trying to use me at every turn for their own gain. I'll finally be able to live the way I want…'

Daisuke and his teammates had fallen asleep long ago, barely fifteen minutes after Tsunade had left the room. Kommando shook his head with a smirk as he silently moved them all into a corner. He placed Kazuma against the wall, and Daisuke in the corner itself with Ruri next to him. He placed a blanket over them and let them be.

And now, he was barely able to keep himself from laughing out loud at their current positions. Kazuma had somehow fallen to lay on his side against the wall still while Ruri had apparently cuddled up to Daisuke, her head resting on his shoulder while she grasped his left arm. As this whole scene had developed, his young cousin had also managed to inconspicuously start purring in his sleep at Ruri's presence. 'Now that's an interesting turn of events… Too bad we don't have a camera, but then again that would easily wake the three of them up. Oh well, there's always going to be more back home, what with that girl Ten-Ten having apparently disappeared in the invasion.'

* * *

Deep within the recesses of Naruto's mindscape, the blonde was standing before the gate to the seal's chamber which Kyuubi resided.

'Damn, what the hell's going on now?' he asked out loud.

"**Ah, so the sleeper has finally started to awaken, has he?"** came the voice of the demon he called older sister. She appeared at the bars to the door and crossed her arms. **"You know, you sure caused a lot of problems for everyone, Kit."**

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he grinned stupidly. 'Sorry about that, Kyu-neechan. But I at least remember now that I overdid it on using your chakra, and then this weird guy all of a sudden appears out of nowhere and does something to my chest with a kunai that felt like it'd been in the oven for hours! God that HURT!'

Kyuubi looked at her otouto with a sad smile on her face. **"Kit, I don't know how to tell you this, but that man you saw earlier, that was… your father…"**

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. 'But I thought he was-'

"**Dead? Yes, he **_**was**_**; but that only was until the Snake Sennin used a dark jutsu to resurrect his body from the grave and recall his soul from the stomach of the Shinigami for a short time to do his bidding."** Kyuubi sighed and held up a hand, a medium-sized mirror appearing in her hand. **"But what's important now is how your body is reacting to that sudden overload of my chakra. You're already starting to become a hanyou, and any time now you really need to be waking up."**

'Why, what's wrong aneue?'

She let out a sigh again and steeled herself as best she could for telling him the bad news.

"**Kit, it's your would-be mate, Hinata…"**

'Would-be? We're just dating! We're still genin and it's way too soon to be thinking about getting married!' Naruto rambled on in protest, his arms flailing about as his face turned as red as Hinata's used to.

"**Naruto-kun… I'm not teasing you about the fact that you tow may have very well become husband and wife, but rather… I'm trying to tell you that… Hinata is dying, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop the process…" **This effectively shocked Naruto so much that, instead of running to the cage bars and trying to shake Kyuubi for more information, the boy disappeared from his mindscape and actually launched himself out of his hospital bed and landed flat on his head next to the exam table that Hinata was still on.

All eyes minus the ones of those that were sleeping turned immediately to him as he had flown straight out of his bed and nearly made a landing right on top of Hinata.

"Hinata-chan!" he exclaimed as he shot off the floor and stood next to her side, firmly grasping her hand in both of his. "Wake up, please Hinata! Don't die on us, we need you!"

"Naruto…" said Hiashi, the man behind Naruto blinking in surprise. Never had he seen someone associate so much raw emotion with his daughter. Sure, he had met the boy and conversed with him a few times after they started dating, but he had never acted like this in his presence before.

"Naruto-kun…" Kushina whispered, seeing her son so close and conscious for the first time in over twelve years. Oh how she had yearned to have been a part of his life for all these years, and she could finally start now.

"Naruto-niisan…" Misaki said as she witnessed a brief glimpse into her brother's true self. She could see why their mother always said that from her observations and the reports she got that Naruto apparently inherited their father's demeanor and outlook on life.

At hearing his name, the blonde slowly turned around and saw two strange woman who looked eerily similar steadily move towards him.

"Looks like the gaki's finally awake," Jiraiya said with a yawn. He looked amusedly at Naruto when his mother and sister carefully cornered him and embraced him carefully.

Kommando snickered at the blonde's sense of distress, not knowing who these two strange women were that were hugging him. 'This is going to be quite entertaining to watch unfold.'

Tayuya chuckled as she got off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed that Naruto had literally flown out of. As she looked around, she realized she was still wearing the outfit she had been given as a member of Orochimaru's personal guard. With a scowl, she tore off her hat after unraveling the bandage around her hitai-ite and threw all of that into the trash can. She then pulled out a kunai and cut off the rope belt she was forced to wear while in Oto and dropped in on the floor next to the bed. She yanked off the grey overshirt that served as her jacket, emptied the hidden pockets of everything and tossed it towards the bathroom.

She then picked up a scroll from the pile of pocket-stuffs and unfurled it. She scanned the seals on the scroll until she found the one she needed, and with a puff of smoke pulled out a large cardboard box. "It's about time I get changed. Thankfully no one ever found those seals on the inside of my flute, otherwise I'd be screwed on clothing until we get back to the village."

The redhead quickly rummaged through her box and pulled out a few items, then resealed the box and put the scroll back on top of the pile. She stood up and pulled on a pair of baggy pants which she soon stuffed the cargo pockets of with the things she pulled out of her grey overshirt. She pulled on a red long-sleeved shirt over her black tank top and put on a baggy black cargo vest over that. Her flute fit snuggly into a hidden inner pocket of the vest as she pulled a hitai-ite with the symbol for Sakini Riku-ate out of a pocket on the vest and strapped it around her neck and the knot behind her neck. She then headed to the bathroom and closed the door, proceeding to take care of her personal hygiene.

Naruto was completely lost as these two strange women started to hug him after forcing him into a corner. "What's going on? Who are you two crazy ladies!?"

Kushina looked down at him and smiled broadly, Misaki doing the same but from just a couple inchies beow his eye level. "We're your family!" they both said in unison.

Naruto's eyes shrunk to mere dots as he looked at them. "Huh? I don't have any family though! My dad gave his life to save the village, and my mom died in the hospital after I was born! I never heard anyone say I had a _sister_!"

The two redheads didn't falter as they continued to hold their lone male relative. "That's because no one in the village approved of the relationship between Minaot and me, and thus we had to keep it secret that I was pregnant from almost everyone in Konoha. Even Minato didn't know that I was pregnant with twins until today…" Kushina replied, a lone tear dropping onto her son's hair. She hugged him closer once more before leaning back and taking a good look at his face for the first time while he was conscious. "You look like a chibi version of your father, from the eyes down to the unruly hair. Even your grin looks like his; but your hair seems to be…"

That was when Kushina and Misaki both did a double-take at Naruto's appearance. Last they looked at him, he had blonde hair that went in all directions and his scars were minute and thin, his eyes just like anyone else they saw. Now, his hair had spontaneously grown nearly a whole foot in length as the roots darkened severely to look almost as red as their own hair.

When Naruto looked at them in his own surprised way, they saw his eyes change literally in the blink of an eye. One second his eyes were blue and round, the next his eyes were red pupils amongst the formerly white area of the eye that had mysteriously turned blue. Black slits appeared in the place of the round irises a second later and adjusted to the ddarkness by widening out. His whisker scars had slightly thickened, and his canine teeth slightly peeked out of his mouth now. He moved his hand up to scratch his head and found that his ears had elongated quite inhumanly and he almost freaked out.

"Whoa shit! I bought that demon fox was joking when she said that Naruto could become physically different, but not _this_ different!" Tayuya exclaimed when she stepped out of the bathroom. Her jaw was quite slack as she stepped forward and looked him closely in the eye as she tugged first on an ear and then on his hair. "Though, I have to admit you're a lot cuter like this thfn you were only ten minutes ago," she said in a soft voice with a blush on her face.

Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh at the girl's admission. 'Oh man, and Minato thought he had a problem with redheads! His son not only has a redhead for a mother, but also a redhead for a sister and now a redhead admirer!'

Naruto slipped out of the embrace and ran towards the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He almost shrieked like a little girl as he saw himself, but then felt a hand on his shoulder. Startled, he turned and found Kushina looking at him with a look he was completely unfamiliar with.

"It seems that your _nee-chan_ was right with the possibility that you'd experience some… changes due to an overload of demonic chakra," she said with a sad smile. "I wish I could have spent more time with you my son, but Fate wasn't going to allow it until I finally took the risk of endangering not just Misaki but you as well."

Naruto looked the woman in the eyes for a moment before he looked back at the mirror. He poked his teeth with his tongue and recoiled as they promptly pierced through the taste buds. He focused on his eyes and noticed that the slits seemed to change size in the different levels of light, and when he reached a hand out to the switch and turned off the light, his eyes actually were still able to see in the absence of the light somewhat. Though he was unable to define most colors, he could distinctly make out shapes in the dark and could see with a fair bit of clarity when he noticed the redhead named Misaki wrap her arms around him from behind.

"I may only know about you from what others say onii-san, but I just want you to come home… I've always wanted you home, and now's our chance to be a family," she said as she pressed her face into the back of his neck.

He flicked the light back on and noticed that Kushina was standing behind the both of them now. "So what do I do now… My home is destroyed, Hina-chan is going to die at any moment… I have nowhere to go now…"

"Yes you do onii-san! You're coming home to our village, our home! Kaa-san came here just for you, and I demanded to come along when I found out! I wasn't about to let her come here alone, and I really have wanted to meet you…" Misaki said as she tightened her arms around Naruto.

He slowly turned around in her grasp and his arms shakily moved around the sister he never had expected to have. He placed his head against her shoulder to hide the tears starting to fall from his eyes. "Im-imouto…" he croaked out, arms tightening around his twin.

Kushina wrapped both of them in her arms as she kissed them each on the head, her own tears falling silently into the flow of emotions.

Several heads peered into the bathroom quietly as they heard a lack of noise in the room. Jiraiya was tearing up slightly and moved back to his spot under the pretext of something in his eye. Hanabi looked on with a very sad smile as she watched the boy that had saved her sister from a life of darkness obtain what she was about to lose and what had been taken from her before she could even know it. Tayuya softly smiled as she leaned against the frame of the door while she fiddled with her flute. Kommando was sensing everything from his spot at the door to the hallway while Hiashi had not moved from Hinata's side.

Several moments passed as the reunited family embraced each other before Kushina broke the quiet reverie. "Naruto-kun, would you come home with us, to our village? The Village Hidden Beyond Land's End has been wanting you to come home for so long, they all are expecting you by my side when I take Misaki and Tayuya back soon. I want you to come back, to be a part of our village and to give you the family you were never given the chance to have."

Naruto looked at his mother with tears in his eyes, the red softening slightly to a brighter shade as the slits his irises had become rounded out. He gave her a truly hearfelt smile as he freed one arm from the form of his sister and wrapped it around his mother, pressing his face into her stomach as he nodded and let out a muffled 'yes'.

Kushina kissed him on the forehead and stroked his hair as Misaki started to cry out loud in joy. "Thank you Naruto-niisan! You don't know how much I've wanted you home! Everything's ready for you in the house, you've got everything you'll ever need. You'll even be put into a genin team-"

"Naruto can wait until a more proper time to hear about our village; right now, we must let him have some last moments with his Hinata before she cannot hold out anymore," Kushina said with a finger to her daughter's lips. "We can discuss everything tomorrow after we get some sleep."

Misaki lifted her head from Naruto's shoulder and sniffled, nodding her head. She sniffled again and leaned over, giving him a peck on the cheek before pulling her body from him. She made her way out the door past Tayuya who stood up straight. The two young kunoichi both looked at the mother and son before taking their leave to the other room.

Kushina looked down at Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a soft smile as she spoke. "Come Naruto-kun, you should give Hinata your last words while she may still hear you."

"Alright… Kaa-san."

She led him out the door and stepped to the side as he moved towards Hinata's still form. He stood before Hiashi who had picked up Hanabi, the young Hyuuga girl crying silently into his shoulder. With a simple nodd, Hiashi moved to stand next to his mother to give him a few moments alone with Hinata.

Naruto thought back to all their together over the last couple months as he moved to stand beside Hinata, his hands picking up her left hand. His thumbs stroked the back of her hand as he looked at her peaceful form, his senses noticing for the first time how her chakra was slowing fading away. With her left hand in his left, his other moved to her face and cupped her cheek tenderly, remembering the day he had been tricked by Daisuke and Ten-Ten to kiss her. It was an embarrassing event, but he was actually glad that his friend had made him do it; otherwise, he may have never discovered Hinata having feelings for him, actually _wanting_ to be with him despite how everyone else in the village treated him.

Hiashi noticed a slight movement on the examination table as Naruto leaned down and placed his lips on Hinata's. He nudged Kushina with an elbow slightly and inclined his head to the activity and she then noticed a hale hand creeping up from the table. She held her breath as the hand placed itself on Naruto's face. She grew a sad smile as she wiped away a tear, the act bringing back memories she would never forget from earlier that day.

Naruto froze as he felt a soft hand caress his cheek. He slowly opened his eyes and pulled back from Hinata's face as he then saw her pale orbs looking back up at him.

"Naru-Naruto-kun…"

"Shhh Hinata-chan, you don't have much energy…" he said. He didn't want her to freak out in her last moments of life at learning she was going to die at any moment.

"I k-know Naruto-kun… I can feel… my chakra draining away from me… I have only a few… more moments before… the darkness overcomes me…" she whispered. Her eyes formed tears as she looked up at his eyes, giving him a sincere look. "I like the new eyes…"

Naruto blushed heavily as she gently ran her fingers along the scars of his left cheek, brushing over the teeth poking out from his lips. She smiled with more brightness as she saw his hair, noting the texture of animal fur to it as she ran her fingers through it.

"I can see that… you're going to be happy Naruto-kun… I can sense chakra like yours… in the room. I'm… happy for you, my sweet… You finally get… to know the happiness I once did…" she said softly, gasping to get her final words out.

She looked to her other side and saw her father and sister, reaching a hand out in an attempt to touch them one last time. "Fa-father… Hanabi-chan…"

As Hiashi moved closer with a sleeping Hanabi clutching his neck, Kushina wishpered to Kommando to go find Tsunade and inform her of Hinata's imminent passing. The blind shinobi silently nodded and left the room without a sound in search of the Slug Princess, leaving the conscious to their mourning.

Hiashi took Hinata's hand in his own, sensing the ebbing of her chakra with every breath she forced. His eyes blurred from the tears as they locked eyes, neither wanting to wake Hanabi, she didn't need to witness her sister dying before her eyes.

"Father… promise that Hanabi… won't turn out like the rest… of the clan when she takes over for you…" she spoke softly, her eyes losing their focus with every passing second. She knew her time was running short, and she had to comfort her loved ones while she could still talk.

"…You don't have to worry about the old ways of the clan living on anymore, Hinata." His voice threatened to crack as he went on. "You and Neji are the only members of the clan that lived through the invasion, and Hanabi and myself were on the mission to the capitol; everyone else… was slaughtered in the compound when Oto and Suna commenced their attack on us…"

The heiress closed her eyes unable to keep them open much longer. She squeezed her father's hand and gave him one last smile as she offered her final words to him. "Then… erase the mistakes of the clan… Never use the curse seal on any of their children… Let the sins of our family die with the others in the compound… Father, it is what Mother would have wanted…" She turned her face away as she gave him one last squeeze of the hand before her head turned back towards Naruto who had been gripping her other hand firmly in his hands.

His tears were uncontrollably flowing now, not caring that anyone could see him as he was watching his girlfriend spend her last precious moments of life comforting everyone else and not giving into her pain.

She was about to speak but Naruto silenced her with a kiss, gently on the lips. They held firm for a few moments before Naruto slowly broke away and placed his head next to her ear.

"Hinata-chan, I will never forget you… I love you… I'll always treasure what we had…"

She smiled but he didn't know it as he kept his head next to hers. He didn't stop her from giving him her final words to him with the very last ounce of strength she had.

"Naruto-kun.. please promise… that you will find someone to make you happy… I don't want you to live in sorrow and grief, I want you to keep me in your heart forever but not keep it from letting you find someone you can… spend your life with… I love you Naruto-kun… Please promise, that you'll make yourself happy without me…"

Naruto wordlessly nodded his head, pressing his cheek against hers as he pressed his tears against hers. She softly kissed him one last time, their lips met and stayed fully embraced until the hand that he was holding no longer thrummed with the slow pulse that signaled the flow of life. The hand felt cold as he slowly released it and placed her arm back at her side on the exam table. He took one last look at the first girl who had ever let him into her heart the way she had, and saw the serene smile on her face, her eyes closed, her tears running down the sides of her head making trails that had started drying and leaving stains on her pale skin.

He didn't move when Kushina and Misaki eached placed a hand on either side of his back. Nor did he move when Hiashi looked at him with a somber expression, unable to say anything. He made no effort to move when Tsunade silently came up and pulled a white sheet over her body, covering her from the rest of the world and placing her under the covers of eternal darkness, where she would find peace and happiness with her ancestors.

No one spoke as he moved to the window of the hospital and looked out the glass at the large red moon.

It reminded him of the color her cheeks would turn every time she touched him, or when he'd say something back when they were still in the Academy. He placed his forehead against the glass as he looked down at the ground. His body didn't resist when his mother came up to him again and pulled him close to her in a warm embrace.

"Naruto-kun… I know you've already come to realize that killing is an unavoidable part of being a ninja, andnow you've experienced that death of a comrade has an even bigger impact; more so than that when it's the death of a loved one." She stroked his hair as she went on, soothing her son's mourning spirit. "Nothing will ever make the pain easy to deal with, nor is there any way to prevent the pain from happening. It's always going to be with you, and you have to just see it as what it is: another part of life, just as is with eating, training and doing missions. It's always going to be there even if you don't want to see it."

"The sad thing is, Naruto," came Tayuya's soft voice from next to his bed, "that dealing with the loss of someone you knew or cared about is so much harder to deal with, even when it's just a single person at once, than it is to deal with killing the enemy on missions. It's because," she said as she moved forward and placed a hand on his arm, "no matter how many you kill in battle, it's almost improbable that you'll be killing those you know. Killing someone you never knew, haven't spent time with, eaten meals with or simply gotten to know, is always going to be easier than letting a loved one go."

Naruto merely just hugged his mother, still getting used to actually having one now after so long. Kushina continued to stroke his hair as they stood like that, with Hiashi having sat back down on his bed with Hanabi sleeping against his chest. He carefully laid back and wrapped her in the sheets before closing his own eyes. Jiraiya had apparently been semi-conscious during the affair and was somber looking through and through. Daisuke and his teammates were still asleep, Kazuma having curled into a ball and sucking a thumb while Ruri had proceeded to somehow toss her legs onto Daisuke's lap as she had also placed her arms around him. Tsunade had already left but not without a sincere and sad look on her face as she saw the scene, causing tragic memories to arise in her mind that she desperately did not want to relive. Kommando had resumed his position by the door and was currently meditating in front of it.

Kushina leaned down and kissed him softly on the forehead before she spoke again. "Come Naruto, let's get some sleep. There is much to be done before we leave this ruined village and go home."

When Naruto refused to let go, she peered at him and then found a weird sensation. She also heard a noise that Tayuya quirked an eyebrow at, and Misaki started giggling softly as they came back to the bed Naruto had been in where she could hear the noise. Apparently, Naruto could now _purr_…

"Cmon, let's get him up on that bed with you, Misaki-chan," Kushina said as she hefted the boy up. The girl scooted over and helped situate him on the bed under one set of sheets as Misaki took the other set and laid down the opposite direction as her older twin.

Kushina smiled as her children started to snore. Well, Misaki lightly snored as Naruto continued to purr. When she noticed that they were a tad restless and moved around a bit, she readjusted Misaki's position so that she was facing her brother, both of them with their bodies in the same manner. She then turned to Tayuya with a smile and asked, "Do you think you have enough coherence after all this to play a lullaby? I know you know a few."

"I'd be damned if I hadn't learned my family's lullabies from my grandmother before they were all massacred," the other redhead responded with a playful snort. She pulled her flute out of her vest pocket and brought it up to her lips.

A soft melody filled the room as Kushina settled down in a chair next to her children's bed, giving them each one last smile before she made herself comfortable and enjoyed the music.

Hiashi gave the reunited Uzumaki one last glance before the notes of the flute music put him to sleep, the last thing he thought was about how, of all the people in the village affected by the invasion, Naruto was the only one who actually gained something he needed desperately from it. Everyone else in the village was suffering tremendously at the losses of family and possessions, but the boy who'd never had much to begin with, either in friends and loved ones or personal belongings, had gained the most important thing a person could ever need as the rest of them had lost that exact same thing in many ways.

Tayuya played her instrument for several more moments, making sure that everyone around was asleep before she curled up with her head resting on her arms, which were propped up on the bed next to Naruto's head.

'You've been through some hellacious shit, and yet you never once fought back in attempts to prove everyone else wrong… You no longer have to though; everyone back home will think nothing of your burden. I won't either… Naruto-kun…'

And after that last thought, the former triple-agent of Oto, Ankoku, and Sakini Riku-ate drifted off to sleep, her own mind recalling the lullaby as she had first heard her grandmother play it when she was a child. She fell asleep soon afterwards with an outstretched hand unconsciously stroking Naruto's head…

* * *

At that same moment, two figures stood at the demolished gates to Konoha. One was obviously bigger without including his sword that he had hefted over his shoulder covered in bandages. In the light of the full moon you could clearly see the red clouds all across their dark cloaks but unable to see their faces under their straw hats.

"Hm, it would seem that Orochimaru has actually done something right for once…" said the smaller figure.

"Yeah, go figure that fag would actually pull off his plan to destroy this village," came the bigger one's reply as he adjusted his sword on his shoulder.

"I'm a bit surprised at that, considering the information we received from our superior said that the Leaf and Darkness had a combined total of three of the nine containers amongst them. You would think that more than just the fox's vessel would have unleashed his power in the face of his home being destroyed," mused the smaller.

"Just wish we could have gotten here sooner; I personally wanted to see if the rumor about the pair of shinobi on tiger summons was true." The big one turned and looked at the damage remains of what had once been the outer wall of the village while his partner seemed to have something on his mind.

"Are you sure they said _tigers_? Not just that they only looked like tigers?" asked the smaller one.

The bigger one called back as he placed a hand in the water of the river which ran outside the village walls and concentrated.

"Yes, the waters say that it was indeed tiger summons; two, and that, interestingly enough, both shinobi have been to Konoha before. One several times over the last several years while the other was only here briefly a long time ago."

Suddenly, both figures turned their attention to a pair of figures coming to them from within the village walls. Both made no move to hide or prepare for a fight as Jack and Carlos made their arrival.

"Hello Itachi, Kisame. You two are a tad late."

* * *

The next day brought no rest for even the weariest of the survivors. All the able-bodied Leaf shinobi immediately got to work searching the ruins for any more who had lived through the invasion the day before while others prepared the grave sites for the bodies of the fallen. Tsunade and her apprentice had wasted no time in checking over all the injured that came bfore them and ended up having to consume a combined total of five soldier pills between the two of them throughout the first day. Jack had ordered out a majority of his ranks to make their way back to Ankokugakure, instructing for them to leave a group along the way at what would be a day's travel apart while the rest returned with Carlos to prepare the village and inform them of the situation. Jiraiya was working Hiashi to seal the bodies of the slaughtered Hyuuga and prepare the compound for destruction while Hanabi had found Neji and his teammates and stayed with them while they rested in the hospital.

While all the others were busy with the clean up, Kushina led her children plus Tayuya and the Ichirakus to a nearby waterfall deep in the neighboring woods.

Kushina walked up to the edge of the stream that flowed away from the waterfall and looked at her shinobi. She had told them that, when outside of the presence of those in the ruins or outside of their own village when they returned, that they were all shinobi and to treat each other as such to help protect one another. She looked at Naruto hard, half thanking the demonic chakra for his new look and half depressed that she was losing the last images of her lover.

"Alright Naruto. Today we start your training in the ways of our village. I know that you have hardly any real training but your experience in Wave, along with what happened to you growing up, has forced you to be a 'spur-of-the-moment' ninja. That isn't a bad thing but you won't be able to go on like that forever," she said as she pulled out a hitai-ite with the symbol for Sakini Riku-ate no Sato and showed it to him. "If you wish to wear this headband, you must earn it, _our_ way. Just because you earned the Leaf symbol doesn't mean you can walk in with us and expect to automatically wear it as though you graduated from _our_ Academy."

The Uzukage then turned to Tayuya and Ayame. "The same shall be said for the both of you; you may already have yours but neither of you have earned the right to wear it. So," she walked up to each one in turn and slowly removed their headbands and moved to stand on the water in the middle of the large pond beneath the waterfall and continued, "you three will have to come and _get_ these hitai-ite from me before you can enter the village as members of the ranks of the Village Hidden Beyond Land's End."

Tayuya appeared to be blowing smoke out her ears as Ayame merely shrugged, Naruto scratching his head in confusion. Teuchi and Misaki grinned as they noticed their dilemmas while Kushina proceeded to sit down on top of the water with the headbands tucked away in a pocket.

"Hey! I fucking risked my life being so close to Orochimaru for our village! I shouldn't have to take a fucking _test_, and especially not after having gotten that bastard's **mouth** on me when he marked me!" Tayuya screamed as she pulled her shirt collar down to reveal her curse seal.

Ayame just smiled as she moved to the water's edge and tapped it slightly with one foot. "I don't see the big deal; I kind of expected something like this." She tentatively placed both feet on the water and bounced slightly. "Man, it's been a while since Dad and me got to train… Feels so good to use my chakra like this again."

Naruto merely stood there next to his sister with a look of great confusion on his face. "How are you guys doing that? Is that another chakra control technique?"

Kushina looked at him and then smacked herself in the forehead with a palm. "Sorry about that Naruto. Yes, this is an example of the chakra control exercise _water walking_. I forgot that the Konoha Academy never focused on what are the true basics rather than the most simple of tasks."

Tayuya looked at the boy with a weird look on her face. "What, didn't you learn to do stuff with your chakra besides jutsu?"

"Not really, only the tree climbing exercise, and that only happened because we ran into an A-ranked missing nin from Kiri named Zabuza and his apprentice Haku."

Misaki's ears perked up at that, but managed to keep her mouth shut. She wasn't about to spoil _that _surprise for her nii-san.

"I have heard about the mission, and really wish that Konoha had paid more attention to the instruction of their genin. Most villages are already training their would-be genin to do the tree-climbing exercise in the second or third year of the Academy, and water-walking is a part of the last year's curriculum." Kushina sighed and rubbed her temples and had an idea. "But since you and Tayuya have passed formal training to become official genin of a village nonetheless, I shall bend the rules this once for you three."

Tayuya raised an eyebrow as Naruto looked on in curiousity, Ayame merely doing some warmup exercises still atop the surface of the stream flowing from the waterfall.

"Since the two of you have experience working with others and Ayame has the most experience overall, here's the bending I'll make this one time: in order to pass and become genin of the village, the three of you must secure at least one of these three headbands from me, using anything you may have, except for demonic chakra, summons, or any of the jutsus that are listed below D-class. That means no Kyuubi-help, no doki-help, and no substitutions, clones, or transformations," she said with a sadistic smile.

Tayuya huffed as she pulled her flute out of her vest pocket and handed it to Misaki. "Be careful, that's a family heirloom."

Naruto pouted but reluctantly nodded his head. 'Sorry nee-chan, I have to stop your chakra from helping me in this test Kaa-san is putting me through…'

"**No worries, otouto. It's best that you learn to use your own chakra more effectively before you try to harness my raw power again anyways,"** came the fox demon's response.

Ayame merely finished her warm-ups and stood in the middle of the stream and watched as Tayuya joined her, then gave a small laugh as Naruto attempted to step foot on the surface of the water but fell right in. Thankfully he was only a few steps out and ended up soaking his pants to his knees.

"I think I'm gonna have to do this in my shorts…" Naruto muttered. He pulled off the spare set of clothes that he had kept in a small supplies scroll in what was left of his former sack. 'Least I still had the majority of my stuff…'

As he tossed his pants and short onto the rock next to his sister, his hand grazed the placed where his former hitai-ite plate had been fused to his skin. He let the sadness take over for a second before he kicked his sandals off next to his clothes and readied himself for another shot at stepping on the water.

"Since this is what you have to do before you're allowed into the village, there won't be a time limit. We will be doing this until you three can manage to get a hitai-ite. Just so long as you manage to perform the task as a team that is."

"That's good and all, but what about the wonder-noob there? You don't mean we have to teach him to water-walk, do you?" Tayuya said as she jerked her thumb in Naruto's direction.

Before the Uzukage could reply, there was a rather large cloud of smoke on the sand bank and as the wind blew it away, there stood over two hundred Narutos, all with smirks on their faces. The original turned around and motioned for his clones to move out along the stream and to get to work.

Ayame looked on surprised as Tayuya smirked. "You did hear that we can't use clones right? And what do you expect to do with a mere clone anyway? They're just simple images, nothing more."

The original turned his attention back to his temporary teammates, a huge shit-eating grin on his face. "Whoever said those were _normal_ clones? If I had learned anything before I became a genin, it's that I can't perform the simplest of jutsus due to the amount of chakra I got."

"Pffft, you've got about as much chakra as I did when I first became a recruit for Orochimaru's elite bodyguard at the age of eight."

His grin only grew wider as he pointed at his stomach. "Did you see a seal appear on my stomach or an aura of red chakra right now?"

Tayuya scoffed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Rather than answer her with words, Naruto snapped his finger and one of his clones from behind Tayuya snuck up on her. Or, rather, it tried to. As it slowly and shakily crawled using both hands and feet on top of the water, it came within five feet of the redhead and promptly splashed around, disappareing under the surface.

Tayuya quickly turned around and saw the clone's hands sank below the surface. "What the fuck? A clone can't sink!" she yelled out.

Ayame merely sighed as she moved away from the volatile redhead, knowing that something was going to happen and that she was not wanting to be within arm's reach when it did.

As the former Oto kunoichi moved to get in Naruto's face, she suddenly felt a pair of hands grasp her by the ankles and drag her under. As she moved frantically under the surface, Tayuya managed to land a kick to the clone's gut which dispelled it in a puff of bubbles.

Finally regaining control of herself, Tayuya placed her hands on the top of the water, focusing her chakra to use them to pull herself up as if she was getting onto something normally solid. After she regained her footing on the stream's surface, she looked around and noticed that Naruto was no longer on the shore and alos that over half of his clones had been dispelled.

"What the FUCK kind of clone can actually grab someone!?" she spat out, still getting her breathing under control.

A second later and there was a blur of tan skin and red-blonde hair running on all fours around the stream, zig-zagging around the clones that were still trying to master water-walking on two feet alone.

Kushina let out a laugh as Misaki and the Ichirakus looked on in wonder as Naruto sped around the pond on all fours, managing to steadily increase his control and speed with every lap as the clones dispelled themselves one by one. "It would seem that Naruto learned the secret behind the _Shadow_ Clone jutsu!" she said between laughs.

"There's a _shadow_ clone jutsu? What makes it so different than a normal clone or earth clone?" Tayuya asked as she uprighted herself, breathing completely normal again.

Teuchi spoke up as Kushina started to hold her sides from laughing at how Naruto was skidding around on the surface, trying to move from four-legging the chakra control exercise to two-legging it without slowing down. "It's simple: the Shadow Clone jutsu is actually a Kage-level jutsu that creates a solid clone, capable of fighting and everything that the original can do, even fight for as long as it doesn't get dispelled. Most people never see this jutsu in action as it takes a large amount of chakra to create even as little as two or three at once, so the risk of committing exhaustion from attempting is why it's also labeled as a forbidden jutsu."

"Okay, that answers _that_ question, but raises two more," Tayuya said as she held up two fingers. "First, if it's forbidden, then why did the dipshit learn it and how? And second, how is it only a few people make two and not get exhausted yet he can make _two hundred_ and not break a sweat!?"

There was a large splash of water that soaked Tayuya once more as well as Ayame as Naruto came to a halt before them, breathing heavily from his practice. "I found out why it is, and it's rather funny when you look at it."

"As it turns out, not only was I gifted with abnormally large chakra reserves at birth, but after having Kyuubi- sealed inside of me at birth, my natural chakra system had to constantly fight the demonic chakra back to prevent it from messing with my body like it did when I overdid it yesterday. And you know what happens when you use your chakra: the more you use of it at a steady pace, your reserves become just that much larger. SO," he held up his hand and ticked off his fingers, "you look at the fact that I have had the demon literally almost my entire life, take a portion of my chakra to keep it at bay for over twelve years, take that same amount and multiply that by how many days I've had to hold the demon's chakra away and boom! That's how large my chakra stores were by the time I graduated the Academy." He scratched his head slightly. "Now that I think about it, that explains why none of the teachers at the Academy were able to catch me after my pranks, and even some jonin and the occasional ANBU too."

The temperamental redhead's jaw dropped as she thought over the equation. When her mind came to even the smallest of results, it shocked her to the core that a kid barely a year or two younger than her had more chakra, unassisted by the Kyuubi, than most ninja alive.

"I think after a little bit of sparring, I'll be able to give this test a try. Gimme a bit guys!" Naruto called to his 'teammates' as he ran shakily upright at his remaining five clones. The six Narutos proceeded to punch, kick, scratch, bite, and otherwise pummel each other until the original had finally defeated his last clone.

Everyone else but Kushina was speechless at the sight. Never had they seen someone literally beat the shit out of themselves like that and perform a difficult chakra control exercise at the same time. Naruto's mother, on the other hand, was quite impressed that her son had somehow figured out the side-effect of the jutsu and had mastered the secondary chakra exercise in the matter of barely an hour.

"Alright… I think… I'm ready to try this test," Naruto said as he slowly walked to stand beside Ayame and Tayuya. Each of them eyed him cautiously, not wanting him to overdo it this soon in the testing. "Don't give me those looks, I'm fine. It's just a bit exhausting, dealing with all the info and stuff in such a short time from so many clones."

Just as Tayuya was about to ask what the fuck he was talking about, Kushina cleared her throat to gather the attention of the testees.

"Since it appears as if my son has essentially mastered the water-walking technique, let's get this test started. The sooner you three get your hitai-ite, the sooner we can get back to working on scavenging for the survivors to take with them when they depart next week."

* * *

Later that afternoon, most of the able-bodied shinobi were gathered outside the front of the hospital in large groups as they waited for the 'leaders' to get the assembly started. Luckily, they didn't have long to wait as Tsunade and Jiraiya, along with Hiashi and Jack, appeared in front of the doors to the medical building. Tsunade stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"As many of you are aware, Orochimaru and his Hidden Sound Village have destroyed our home. The Snake also has killed our last Hokage with a forbidden jutsu that resurrected the other Hokages to do his bidding. Thus, the Leaf has fallen off the Tree of the World and shall not be brought back from the oblivion that has befallen it," she announced. She took a breath and pressed on, not wanting to do this but had no choice as she lost the coin flip against the others. "So, the choice lies with each of you in what you wish to do. You are free to do as you please from this point on. I, as well as Jiraiya and the clans and their survivors shall be returning to the Village Hidden in the Darkness with the Yamikage, and become members of their village. The rest of you may come with us or you may find another village to call home, or you may forgo remaining shinobi altogether and find normal lives."

And thus the massive amount of whispers amongst the ranks ensued, most ninja talking to their friends or the closest ear and seeing what everyone else was thinking. The jonin instructors and their students stood at the front of the assemblage, not talking as they had discussed it earlier and made their choices. Moments passed before Jiraiya finally stepped out and past Tsunade, grabbing the full attention of the crowd.

"Those of you that wish to live normal lives or find other villages may leave at your leisure and evacuate the ruins of the village with whatever you find that you can carry with you. Those of you wishing to journey to Ankokugakure on the other side of the Ygotsui and make new lives there, start preparing what you can for the migration: we shall be making groups to travel a day apart from each other, one group per day, to leave for Ankoku in less than a week. There will be four groups, each one will be led by the most able-bodied and capable ninja currently operable. Each group will make camp for the night when they encounter a group of Insane Devils along the way, which will be spread out on the road at a day's interval to help protect any injured or civilians in the groups. As the last group leaves, they will bring back with them each outpost of ninja and thus bring up the rear."

Jack made his way to the front and cleared his throat before starting his portion of the announcements. "You all are more than welcome to join the village of Ankoku; despite how foolish your council had been over the course of the last fifteen years in refusing our alliance proposals, we are still providing as much assistance as we can. Facilities are being prepared back in the village to receive as many of you as that want to make a life there. In the event any of you wish to become shinobi of the village, you will be welcomed into the ranks, chunin and jonin shall keep their ranks but genin and ANBU-level shinobi shall have to perform certain tasks to prove that they are up to our standards before being awarded a hitai-ite of Darkness."

Jack moved back to stand by Jiraiya and Tsunade as Hiashi took his turn to finish up the assembly, a grim look on his face. He moved slowly to stand before the gathered fallen Leaf. With a deep sigh he commenced his task. "My comrades, we lost the Uchiha clan as a whole over seven years ago when Itachi committed the massacreof all but his little brother Sasuke, then proceeded to leave the village and disappear without a trace. Then hardly two months ago, Sasuke himself left this village and joined forces with the very man that has reduced our village to rubble; this had left Konohagakure with half of the bloodlines we as a shinobi village had come to rely upon as being at our dispoal.

Murmurs began as he continued with his speech, noting the looks on Neji's face as he held Hanabi's hand and her face resembling her cousin's. "And then, during the invasion yesterday, almost the entire Hyuuga clan was obliterated in the safety of the clan compound. The only ones not present were my two daughters, Neji, and myself. Neji and Hinata were both enrolled in the Chunin Exams, and my younger daughter and myself were returning from a mission and arrived just after the last civilian Hyuuga was killed."

"Then, in the middle of the night, my oldest daughter, Hinata, passed away from an attempt by Orochimaru at gaining a Byakugan-user to compliment his Sharingan-user amongst his forces. There was a slim chance that she would have survived, but Fate was not about to further augment Orochimaru's current success." The cold man wiped away a tear at the memory of his daughter passing away before his very eyes. "And now, there are but three of the Hyuuga, almost as there are two remaining Uchiha, but our decrease in numbers has ultimately destroyed our clan. Thus, the Village Hidden in the Leaves no longer has any significant bloodline limits to prompt people into seeking our shinobi to do their missions, and we have no choice but to abandon these ruins, and forge a new future for ourselves and our children…" Hiashi stepped away and took his place behind the three other leaders, not wanting to further provoke his depression.

Tsunade took the lead once more as there were words of unrest and discension spreading amongst the survivors. She looked the gathered ranks and sighed inwardly as she spoke. "I'm sorry everyone, but there are no other options. The Sandaime Hokage was killed in battle, the council was killed when Orochimaru destroyed the Hokage Tower, and almost all the buildings in the village were destroyed during a fight between the Kazekage's son, the container for the demon raccoon Shukaku, and one Uchiha Sasuke. Thus, we are forced to leave the ruins behind and make new lives for ourselves, no matter where the path leads. Those of you coming over the Ygotsui, we leave six days from now. Any of you not wanting to come, you can leave as you please whenever you see fit. After the fourth group has departed nine days from now, we are not going to be held accountable for your safety should you choose to remain here any longer."

At the mention of demons and containters, there was a loud uproar as many of the survivors remembered a certain blonde genin that had become a ninja of the village just recently. Many of the civilians started yelling out that this all happened because of the 'reincarnated fox' and that he had helped Orochimaru defeat the village. More were calling to find and kill Naruto with several agreements sounding out just as loudly. Just when Tsunade was about to launch into the fledgling mob and make them regret saying such things of a mere child, there was a sudden chill in the air as a group of people appeared between the Slug princess and the gathered remnants of Konoha.

There in front of the crowds stood four redheads and two brunettes, each one wearing a strange hitai-ite on their persons. Many recognized the brunettes from a certain ramen stand and thought that the only male redhead seemed to be familiar while two of the three females were unknowns to the masses.

Then the oldest redhead's appearance finally clicked in the memories of those who had known of her presence during the last years of the Yondaime's life. Suddenly, there were cheers as many rushed to embrace the woman they thought would lead them to vengeance.

Those few were stopped dead in their tracks as the two smallest redheads stepped before her, the kunoichi pulling out curved daggers from behind her back as her partner made a strange hand sign and summoned as many clones as there were gathered survivors.

"What is the menaing of this, Kushina-sama! Why are these _children_ getting in our way?" one man called out.

Kushina scoffed as she moved to stand behind Misaki and the original Naruto, keeping her gaze stoic as she spoke. "These _children_ as you put it, are my children, the only children that Minato-kun ever fathered, and the only thing preventing me from slaughtering you all for how you've treated my son his entire life."

"The Yondaime never had kids!"

"Namikaze-sama never had a wife, so how could those two be his offspring?"

"They look nothing like the Fourth!"

As the protests continued, Naruto was growing tired of their incessant stubbornness and decided to end it. He removed his shirt and channeled his chakra before the remaining forces of Konoha, the seal that the Yondaime had used to ensure Konohagakure's future appeared on his stomach as a result.

"I _am_ the Yondaime's son! The seal that holds back the Kyuubi no Kitsune from decimating the rest of you that glows on my stomach is more than enough proof!" he shouted. He moved through the hand signs and performed a henge, emerging from the cloud of dust as he looked just the day before when in the first part of the chunin exams. "I am Naruto Uzuamki, sole son to Minato Namikaze, the jailor for the strongest of the demon lords! I took your beatings for years even when I didn't know why everyone hated me, and I still became a ninja of this village to prove to all of you that I am **me** and not **what I hold within me**! But now that the village is gone, Saru-jiji is dead, and Hinata-hime is no longer a part of this world, I will _not_ tolerate your crap any more!" He released the transformation and reverted to his new form. "As of now, the Leaf is gone! And with it goes my ties to protect you all, as well as my oath to not fight back! If any of you come at me with anything _remotely_ resembling the urge to harm me, I won't hesitate in defending myself!"

The crowd broke out into more cries of childish name-calling and threats at Naruto's life until his mother unleashed a massive wave of killer intent on them.

"If _any_ _single_ _one of you_ so much as comes near my son, my daughter, or any other shinobi wearing a hitai-ite with this symbol on it," she pointed to hers, "I will see to it that your body is _never_ found. Acting in a violent manner to any of my ninja while we are trying to provide assistance to you will be treated as an act of war, and thus the Village Hidden Beyond Land's End will not hold back in defending its own kinsmen."

Naruto dispelled his clones and put his shirt back on, not failing to flaunt the new headband that he had strapped across his chest like his old one, the metal plate reflecting the dimming light brightly in the growing darkness.

The shinobi of Sakini Riku-ate followed Naruto as he made his way into the building and back to the room they had used the night before, locking the door behind them to prevent unwanted company.

Kushina took a look at the others in the room, noting that Teuchi was already unsealing some equipment and supplies to make dinner while the genin merely sat in the middle of the room with their backs to each other, leaning back aginst one another in a four-point formation.

She shook her head as she took a seat in a chair against the wall. "Are you sure you want to stay any longer Naruto-kun? Since you three managed to actually get _all three _headbands, there's no real reason to stay here. We have a long trip to get to the village, and there is much to tell you all along the way before we step foot on our home soil."

"I honestly don't know anymore Kaa-san… I at first wanted to stay and help but now that I've seen that they haven't changed their minds about who I really am, I don't want to linger anymore. I want to just get on with my new life, the one I should have had all this time, with you and imouto…"

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, you'll soon have the life you've been robbed of," his mother said softly, covering a yawn with her hand. "If you truly want to get on with your new life, then we can leave tomorrow or whenever you want."

Naruto opened his mouth but there was a loud knock on their door before he could say anything. When there was another knock, slightly louder and neither his mother nor Teuchi attempted to get up to answer it, Naruto sighed and got off the floor which caused Misaki to fall backwards and have both Ayame and Tayuya land on top of her. "Damn you onii-san!" she yelled at him as she attempted to get the older girls off her.

Upon opening the door, the former blonde was greeted by the sight of all his formerly fellow genin and their jonin senseis, as well as Jiraiya and Tsunade on the other side. "What's up guys?" he asked with a small yawn.

"We just wanted to see how you were doing Naruto," Asuma said while munching on a stick of peanut brittle. "We know that you and Hinata were very close, as well as you and my father; you were the most determined to serve the village and having this happen can be devastating."

Shikamaru stepped forward and pointed lazily towards Daisuke's and Ten-Ten's teams and a man wearing what looked to be a torn suit of green spandex behind them. "Plus Daisuke said we should come see you, before you know, maybe leave all of a sudden."

"Who is it Naruto-kun? If they're selling tupperware, tell them we aren't interested!" Kushina called out from her chair across the room.

The Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha stepped past Naruto and looked the oldest redhead in the room square in the face, a grin cracking her usually cold demeanor. "I see that all these years hasn't changed you a bit Kushina."

"Hey there Kurenai. I'd get up and give you a hug, but these misfits," she pointed at Ayame, Tayuya and Naruto each in turn, "nearly drove me to chakra exhaustion while I gave them the genin exam for our village. Never thought Naruto-kun would have so much stamina this young…" she muttered as she rubbed her feet roughly.

Naruto stepped aside and let the others into the room as he scratched his head. "Heh, it's not my fault I've got more chakra than a dozen chunin. Oh, and sorry about slamming you into that rock during the test…"

Many eyebrows shot up at hearing that, all eyes turning to the Uzukage who rubbed her back gingerly with one hand.

"At one point, he got a tad carried away with how fast he was going while practicing his water-walking during a break in the test, and one moment he's fine, the next thing I know is that I'm being launched almost straight up the waterfall. Turns out he was putting too much chakra into the Achilles tendon of his foot to speed up his movements, and lost control of the output. That caused him to get more speed than Kakashi uses in his sole jutsu." Kushina closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "But I gotta admit Naruto-kun: never expected you to master the water-walking exercise in such a short time."

"That's the beauty of the Shadow Clone jutsu," Daisuke said as he stood next to Naruto. "Everything the clone does is treated as if you did it yourself when it's dispelled. So you can cut your training time to a fraction equal to as many clones as you create."

Kushina leaned forward and plopped her head on her hand, looking the Darkness genin over with a calculating look. "How would you know the effects of the Shadow Clone jutsu? Does Jack have the Academy teach that jutsu now instead of the basic clone?"

Ruri nodded her head as she fondled her hammer Depravity. "Sure does; helps us learn a lot more of the material faster, on top of learning to focus our chakra by having us push harder every month during the last year at the Academy to increase the number of clones. I myself can create about five, Kazuma here," she pointed her weapon at the tallest of her team, "can create four, and I have yet to find out how many Daisuke can make now. Last I knew, it was six."

"Such youthful talk from such adept pupils!" Gai broke out. He flexed his arms in a triumphant pose as Lee looked on with big-goofy tears and a raised fist next to his sensei. "It is always wonderful to hear about the fires of youth burning brightly in the next generation of shinobi!"

Gai soon found a fist in his mouth, rather his own fist in his mouth, to prevent him from making any more outbursts. Genma dusted his hands off and put his senbon back in his mouth as his sole student stood next to Naruto and Shikamaru.

"So what are you going to do now, Naruto? Are you going to come with the rest of us to Darkness?" asked Choji, his own senbon moving with every word he spoke.

"Sorry guys, but… I finally have family, and I've always wanted that, more than anything else. To have people love me and not fear or hate me, and now they've come for me. I need to be with them, so I won't be joining you guys." Naruto gave every one of his friends a sad smile.

"Hey, no worries Naruto," Daisuke said. "I know what you mean. If it weren't for Kommadno being my only family in the village, I would probably ask Jack about being a liaison to your new place."

Kushina scratched her chin in contemplation. She thought for a moment and then looked at the Ankoku genin. "Would either of your teammates be up for the task if there just so happened to be a request for volunteers to create an alliance with Sakini Riku-ate? If so, I can talk to the Yamikage about the possibility."

Ruri turned her head to the woman and tilted her head as she asked a question. "That depends: what is the environment in your country like?"

"Pretty cold year round, lots of snow most of the time except for our 'hot times' during the small two month period that some people call our 'summer'," Misaki said as she finally shoved the older kunoichi off her. "When you compare it to other countries, it's pretty similar to Snow country, but that's because of our location."

Kazuma stretched his arms out while he asked a question of his own. "And where is your country located anyway? Has to be pretty small since we've never gotten any intel on it before."

"Sorry but only members of our village and those of our allied villages are permitted to know the location of our home," Teuchi chimed in from his impromptu cooking station. He was working a very large pot over all four burners of a camping stove as he added ingredients left and right to the dinner. "There is a very good reason why no one's heard of us until yesterday, and that's because we don't flaunt our existence or where we've set up the village. This prevents any enemies from attempting to annihilate us like with other villages, and it also protects our civilian population."

"Yes, the last thing we need right now is for everyone to hear about our existence. I doubt Orochimaru will say anything for the time being about our arrival yesterday, so it's safe to say that our village is still under the radar of the rest of the shinobi world for the time being." Kushina glanced at her children and then at Teuchi. "I wish Minato-kun hadn't been such a damn ramen-hound. I honestly don't know how anyone could live healthily on the stuff like he did. I can stand to it eat it every once in a while, but nowhere near as much as he did. When I first saw Naruto at your stand Teuchi, I was about to blow my cover that instant and take him home."

"But then what would have happened to us, Uzukage-sama?" Ayame asked as she flopped onto her stomach on the floor, not far from Tayuya. "Would you have sent someone to bring us back?"

"Of course; without Naruto being in the village, there would have been no need for you and your father to remain."

"Mkay." Ayame lowered her head and closed her eyes. "Wake me up when food's ready." With that, the brunette dozed off.

Neji came up to Naruto and pulled him to the side away from the others. The redhead looked him in the eyes as Neji pulled out an armband from his pocket and placed it in Naruto's hand.

"What this, Neji?" he asked, looking it over. It seemed to have a twisting design around it, blue and yellow intertwining all around the black band as thin wisps of grey worked their way through the design.

"Hinata had been saving this for when the exams were over before giving it to you. I helped her pick it out actually," Neji said with care. "I thought that she had it with her when she and I left the compound yesterday morning to meet up with our teams, but when I searched her room for any remains, I found it sitting on her nightstand. Hiashi said that it was the least I could do for her, to deliver it to you in her place."

Naruto looked the band over for a moment and then slipped it up his left arm. He paid no mind to the slight stinging he felt as it seemed to form snugly on its own to his arm. He then turned his face back to Neji, sad smile on his face. "Thanks Neji, I know Hinata really meant a lot to you…"

Neji returned the smile as he nodded once. "You saved Hinata's life, merely by accepting her for herself. That's what Hiashi said was what prevented Hinata from surviving that seal, which twistedly saved her from a living nightmare. For that, I owe you more than a simple favor, Naruto."

Naruto grinned wide at that. "No worries Neji; just do what you can for Hanabi and their father. He's hit the hardest by her death."

With another nod, Neji made his way back to his teammates. Ten-Ten fidgeted with the kunai Anko had given her as she tapped Daisuke on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow her.

Daisuke nodded, quickly said to Shikamaru and Choji he'd be right back and followed Ten-Ten out into the hall. "What's up, Ten-chan?"

She closed her eyes with her hands behind her back as she gathered her rambling mind. A moment later and she looked Daisuke in the face. "Could you remove your glasses, Dai-kun?"

"No problem; it's fairly dark out here so it won't bother my eyes," he said while his hands removed the lenses. When he looked back into her eyes, he could barely make the outlines of tears falling down her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

"It's my… parents," she said through a sniffling fit. "They think that it's your village that caused Oorchimaru to invade Konoha… And so, they're moving what inventory we have and everything we could salvage from the shop immediately to our relatives in Amegakure with the rest of our distant relatives…"

Daisuke rubbed his face with his free hand at hearing the news. "So, they think that _we_ from Darkness instigated this whole fiasco?"

"Unfortunately, yes. And what's worse…" she trailed off as she looked away.

"What else do they plan to do? They're already making you move to another village, albeit one that has no feuds or allegiances with an outside village. There's nothing I can think of that's worse than not seeing you after you leave, Ten-chan."

A new voice spoke out from behind Daisuke. "I want those weapons back that my daughter gave you, which she _stole_ from the storage shed." Before he could do anything, Daisuke found himself being lifted off the ground from behind by the scruff of his jacket.

"Lemme go you jackass!" he yelled out, attempting to hit the arm of the man hosting him in the air.

'Daddy, no! I paid for the weapons, exactly as was on their label! I left it on the counter with a note!" Ten-Ten screamed as she moved to help her boyfriend. She soon found herself being restrained by her mother.

"Ten-Ten! Those weren't meant to be sold!" her mother scolded. "They were in the back of the storage room for a reason!"

"If it's fucking money you want, I can pay the difference for the tonfa!" Daisuke said as he twisted around and attempted to wrap his legs around the arm holding him up.

Ten-Ten couldn't help him in any way as her mother tightened her hold. "It's gonna take more than money to pay us back for you even _touching_ those, you filthy western barbarian!"

Ten-Ten's father raised his arm even higher and reached out to Daisuke's jacket with his free hand. "I'll let you live you little punk, but I'm taking what belongs to my family!" His hand was about to reach into the pockets of the hanging jacket but something solid impacted with his side, _hard_.

"Diasuke-kun!" came a girls voice. Daisuke didn't try to look but rather took the moment of distraction it caused in his captor's concentration and opened his mouth wide, drawing on enough of Nibi's chakra to invoke the transformation for his teeth to elongate and sharpen. He bit down with a lot of force when he thought the teeth were enough and the large man yelled in pain as he proceeded to release his hold of Daisuke's collar.

But Daisuke was not about to let go of his opponent at this point. Sure, he released the man's hand from his mouth but he kept his legs wrapped tightly around the large bicep and grabbed hold of the man's wrist in between both his hands. "Like picking on people smaller than you huh? Take this!" Without warning, Daisuke plunged all his teeth deeply into the skin just above where his hands gripped. The man roared in pain and promptly started to smash the genin against the wall in an attempt to make him release his hand, but it only provided the one who first distracted him with her own opportunity to harm him.

Without warning, Ten-Ten's father felt not one but _two_ hard objects connect with his shoulders and upper back at the same time, the sounds of clinking chains all around. "You won't harm my Daisuke-kun!" came the voice again, this time it's owner made herself visible.

'Ruri-chan…?' Daisuke thought quickly while still trying to maintain his position on the large man's appendage.

Ten-Ten's mother ws shocked that the boy had grown fangs almost instantly and was almost ripping her husband's hand to shreds in his mouth. "Hideki!" She released Ten-Ten after knocking her forcefully against the wall and ran up to her husband. She pulled out an abnormally large kunai from a hidden pocket and moved to stab Daisuke in the head to make him let go of her husband.

A mere inch before the weapon would be in contact with his temple, two tails sprouted from Daisuke's lower back and wrapped themselves around the woman's arm. She struggled hard to close the distance between her weapon and her target but couldn't find the strength to even force the tails to the side.

"**Just because you're both older and larger than me, does not mean you have power over me!"** came a darker version of Daisuke's voice. His eyes glowed slightly as he opened them again to show Ten-Ten's parents he was done fucking around. He chomped down once more on Hideki's hand as his tails applied more pressure to her mother's arm and there was a resounding series of _crack_s as both bones in her forearm were crushed.

"Achika!" Hideki yelled. He attempted to fling Daisuke off his arm and into Ruri, who had started to slam her hammers repeatedly into his back.

When Daisuke finally let go, he turned away from his teammate and looked the man dead in the eyes. **"Had you simply come up and informed me of the situation, and asked for the tonfa, I would have been more than happy to return them if you were too blind to see reason in my paying full price. But by coming out of nowhere and attacking me from behind as you did, you would have just caused the start of a war had you any village to call home right now!"**

Hideki knelt by his wife and looked at her shattered arm. "You monster! Look at what you did to my wife!"

Daisuke seethed in anger as he released Nibi's chakr slowly until it was back in the seals hidden on his arms. "I only defended myself when approached completely out of the blue by deadly aggressive parties. And I have a witness. Who do you think Lady Tsunade and the Toad Sage would sooner see telling the truth?"

"Give me the tonfa, and we'll be on our way," Hideki said as he picked up his unconscious daughter. Achika cradled her arm gingerly, not taking her eyes off Daisuke or Ruri for an instant.

"'The tonfa' as you so call them, are actually the long-lost property of the founder of Ankokugakure, named _Akuma Buyouka no Shinen_. I instantly recognized them once Ten-Ten had handed them to me," Daisuke said as he pulled each weapon-in-question out. "Even my superiors proved these to be the weapons that our first Yamikage used when creating and defending our village. So you can imagine my curiosity when I found them to be the real deal and that they, after centuries of being lost, somehow wound up in Konoha."

"All I know is that I found them in our storage shed and then I see Ten-Ten run off from the shop with a package as a note with several thousand yen was laying on the counter," choked out Achika through clenched teeth.

"Well, what matters now is that these legendary weapons are now back within the possession of a shinobi of their rightful home." Daisuke turned his back on the parents of his girlfriend and looked one last time over his shoulder. "If you are truly moving your family and business to Ame, please give Ten-Ten one last message for me."

Hideki scowled as he clutched his daughter to him, his wife letting her destroyed arm hang by her side as she readied her large kunai in the other hand.

"I only ask that you give her this message for the health and respect you two have for your own daughter, nothing else," he said without turning to fully face the parents again. "Tell her, that I wish her the happiest of lives wherever she ends up, and that she finds someone that her parents can accept without being blinded by ignorance and sher stupidity."

To prevent an onslaught of curses and threats, Daisuke walked past his teammate and went back into the room, Ruri giving the two adults a stern glare as she reeled her hammers back to her before stepping back into the room.

Hideki and Achika gazed down at their daughter as they slowly made their way out of the hospital, thinking over his words…

* * *

Back in the room, Teuchi was about to start the final preparations on the meal for his fellow shinobi as Naruto cleared his throat.

"Hey guys, I got something I need to tell you all, even though most if not all of you are already aware of this fact: I'm just covering my ass here," he said with a grin on his face. "I've finally been reunited with my family, the only people outside of the Sandaime and Iruka-sensei, not including the Ichirakus, who came to care for me and not fear or hate me for something outside of my control. But now that Konoha is gone, and my family has rescued me, I will not be joining the rest of you in the Darkness Village."

The jonin of the former Leaf raised their eyebrows at this, having heard of Naruto's almost-unbearable lectures on becoming Hokage to prove himself to the villagers. His Leaf classmates looked downtrodden as the genin from Ankoku itself merely nodded their heads. Hiashi looked down as Hanabi clutched his shirt.

"I'm going to be returning with my family and the Ichirakus most likely as soon as noon tomorrow back to the Village Hidden Beyond Land's End. Though there is the chance we might not ever see each other again, we can only hope to meet sometime down the road, possibly as enemeies, possibly as friends but nonetheless we will most likely meet. Maybe as soon as the next chunin exams!" he said with a tooth-bearing grin. His friends chuckled lightly as the adults slightly sweatdropped. "But I want you all to know that I won't forget any of you, and that I would gladly give any of you help if you needed it from me."

One by one, the genin in the room from either Leaf or Darkness proceeded to come up to Naruto and give him a handshake, while the instructors wished him the best of luck and some bits of advice here and there as they one by one led their respective teams out the door and towards their own 'quarters'.

Hiashi made an attempt to leave as well but was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder He turned and found Kushina looking him in the eye. Without saying a word, he nodded his head and lay back down on the bed he and Hanabi had used the previous night to rest.

Moments later, each person in the room was given a fresh steaming bowl of ramen with all the fixings as Teuchi quickly packed away everything not in use. Everyone ate in slince save for the constant slurping and munching on food bits until there was a tall stack of bowls and several pairs of chopsticks waiting to be sealed to be cleaned later.

Naruto hopped onto his bed after having used the bathroom one last time and prepared to sprawl out until he found himself being caught in the middle of a redhead sandwich. He looked calmly as could be to both sides without saying a word as Misaki crawled in and lay on her side with her back to her older brother as a groggy Tayuya crawled into the bed on his other side and grabbing his arm in both of hers. He restrained from freaking out at the feel of her breasts against his arm as she had to edge closer to him so as to not be pressed roughly against the bed's safety rails.

Each of the genin whispered their good nights as Kushina kissed her two children on the forehead and placed a hand softly on Tayuya's shoulder. Teuchi and Ayame took spare pillows from a closet in the hall and set up their beds under the windows as Kushina laid down across the gathered chairs of the impromptu double-room.

One by one, the occupants of the room fell prey to the cravings of sleep as the momens passed by as the moon outside floated high above and shone brightly down over them all.

* * *

**Oh man... I can hear all the screams and demands for my head now...**

**But yes! This chapter is done: Hinata is dead, Naruto is moving on with his life, the survivors are on their way to Ankoku, and Orochimaru is getting his next set of plans underway after doing some revising of his forces' rosters. This was quite the diffivult chapter, but it's a very pivotal one in the story as a whole.**

**Now I know that a ton of you are wondering 'Why did you make ch33 and ch34 so damn HUGE?'**

**The reason: a) because I wanted to, and b) because I just felt that separating these into shorter chapters just wouldn't be right with how I wanted to portray the events in these particuliar chapters.**

**Now, I will most likely end up doing chapters as long and quite possibly longer than this one in the future, but not for a _very long_ time.**

**Now, I noticed that no one mentioned my little pun from last chapter, so I put a couple in here. If you can find the pun from last chapter and at least one from this chapter, you'll get a prize!**

**Reviews are the sutenence of the common fanfic author, so please feed your starving authors!**

NOTE: DDR: Shinobi-mania is my own stupid idea and is not in any way, shape, or form a real version of the game and is meant only for hilarious purpose. Do not try and create a game mat set-up as described in the beginning of this chapter unless you are chunin-ranked ninja of the _Naruto_ universe


	35. Threading the Loom Anew

(Itachi runs around the stage with a broom, cleaning away the dust and debris from the extreme hiatus)

**Alright folks, since it's been so long, and I've lost track of the original 35th chapter I had started, I'm rewriting this from scratch. Let's see how you guys like what I've got planned now that Naruto and the others have all gone their separate ways…**

Itachi: This installment is brought to you by the people who make the Swiffer! Enjoy!

()()()()()

"It is time..."

He looked at the kunoichi sitting in the chair across the large desk from him. "Are you sure it's safe to move now? It has not been the full amount of time we were planning to use..." he asked, hoping his hearing was going afoul on him. But he knew from the moment she had opened her mouth that it was truth.

She sighed and intertwined her fingers as she placed her elbows on the desk, her hands coming before her mouth. "Yes, the time has come to break out into the world and begin. The village has been preparing, and things have moved at an accelerated rate since your arrival. When the people began interacting and observing you, more of the civilian population began training in the shinobi arts, and since then we have enlisted a number far beyond what we ever expected to see for another three decades."

"Does that mean we're...?" came another female voice, from the left of the young man.

"I'd be surprised if it didn't," shot the kunoichi on the male's other side, her attitude sharp as the sickle at her hip.

The seated woman stood and handed a black envelope to the ninja directly across from her. "Yes, and the location this time is in Otogakure of all places. While this puts us in a very precarious position, this also puts us at a higher advantage than if it were being held in Iwa or Kumo. You three, as well as five other squads, will be at the landing at sundown tonight. Be prepared with everything you use, we will not be holding back in our true debut. Dismissed."

Slipping the envelop into his jacket, he and his teammates bowed slightly before exiting the Uzukage's office.

Kushina watched the team leave before turning to face the windows behind her chair. She examined the high level of snow accumulating on the different conjoined roofs of Sakini-Riku Ate. She remembered everything that had occurred over the past few years, and how things were drastically different than originally planned.

'_Yes, the time has come for us to start moving..._'

()()()()()

"So you guys ready for this?"

"Whether we're ready or not doesn't fucking matter at this point," Tayuya said as she sealed the last of her gear away in her mission scroll. Placing it in a pocket of her cloak, she pulled her battle flute from another pocket and started wiping it down with a clean dust rag. "Personally, I've been waiting for this damned chance for years, and I can't wait any longer."

"I don't really know if we should be moving this soon though..." Misaki said. She fingered the pommel of her dagger gingerly as she looked at her teammates. She too had actually been looking forward to this specific mission, but was hoping things would have followed their desired time-line more accurately. "What about you Naruto? Do you think we should be moving ahead like this?"

Naruto leaned against the door frame to Tayuya's room, arms crossed over his chest as he responded with his eyes still closed. "Tayuya's right; being ready or not, this is the time to set things into motion. It would be best for us to be the ones to kick the first pebble down the mountain rather than let those that destroyed Konoha further their vendetta." He stood from the wood and left the entry without another word, his long ponytail swishing left and right behind him. "I'm off to grab some ramen before we depart; see you two at the landing."

Both kunoichi watched their teammate turn the corner in silence.

"You know, I wish we had moved sooner to extract him from the Leaf when he gets like that..." Misaki said despondently as she closed her eyes.

Tayuya smirked as she put away her flute and rag. The older redhead looked around her room once more before grabbing her teammate's shoulder and dragging her out, the door sliding closed behind her with the notion of her foot once in the hall. "I do agree with you, but how he is now is just so much fucking _hotter!_ Makes me want to just pounce him right front of everyone and rape him!"

Misaki scrunched her nose up. "I still don't understand how you can find that attractive in a guy."

"That's because you were raised differently than I ended up having to be," Tayuya responded. "When you've been around nearly half the assholes out there that call themselves 'men', a guy like Naruto stands above the rest."

The two redheads made idle chatter after that, all the while unconsciously making their way to the village's only access point to the outside world to meet with the other squads.

()()()()()

"Hey Ayame, can I get a supreme?"

The brunette looked out the corner of her eye briefly. "Sure thing, Naruto-kun," she responded with a smile. She slipped around the corner for a moment to tell her father the next order before turning her full attention to Naruto. "So what's been going on? Haven't seen you or the others for a couple weeks now."

The hanyou shrugged mildly as he took his customary seat at the relocated ramen stand. "Not a whole lot, actually. We were out on mainland patrols for the last two and a half weeks; just got back in yesterday around lunch. How've things been here?"

"Things have been the same, not quite the variety of people we used to get back home but we don't complain," Ayame said with a smile. "So any idea when you three are going back on your next mission? I hope you guys get something real interesting, and not just another recon mission to the border villages again."

"Here you go Naruto!" Teuchi said proudly as he set a rather large bowl of ramen down in front of Naruto, filled just to the point of keeping the surface tension from breaking with multitudes of ingredients visible and invisible in the murky broth. "One Naruto-Supreme!" he added, separating and placing a pair of chopsticks alongside the bowl.

"Funny thing you should say that Ayame," the redhead responded, picking up the chopsticks and quietly saying 'Itadakimasu' before taking the first slurp. "Thanks Teuchi, by the way," he said between slurps.

The old ramen chef smiled warmly. "Not a problem, especially for our number one customer for more than ten years! Enjoy yourself!" he said before disappearing back into the kitchen.

The waitress waited patiently for a few minutes as Naruto slurped and splotched through a portion of his bowl before pressing him for more information. "So, what's the deal huh? What's your next mission?"

Naruto sat up straight and rubbed his face with a napkin. With a sigh, he placed it in his lap before propping his elbows on the counter and rubbed his face with his hands. His strange eyes, still red pupils with blue sclera, locked with hers.

"We're heading to Hidden Sound, six squads, for our official debut."

()()()()()

The Uzukage, covered in her cloak with hood down, cast her gaze over the assembled squads before her. Each shinobi wore the same, non-descript cloak but with their hoods drawn. Every one of them were ready for her command.

"Shinobi of the Village Hidden Beyond Land's End!" she called out strongly. They all snapped straight and faced her fully, heads tilting despite seeing them. "Tonight, we embark out into the mainland to bring forth our village's prosperity and safety. This event, once we return, will mark our successful and memorable entrance into the outside ninja society as a nation that shall not fall, nor shall be toyed with. This mission is what we have all been preparing for since the day we set foot on this island, and we shall not return until we are triumphant!"

A single united cheer and raise of weapons responded their leader.

"We shall make an impression upon the other nations, both great and small in the ninja world, that Sakini-Riku Ate is a truly powerful village, one where the true value of the shinobi has been reincarnated!" Kushina called out. Her eyes flew over the ranks quickly as she continued. "Together we depart as unknowns, but together we shall return as renowns! For our strength, our tactics! Our goals, for ourselves! But in the end?" she asked, pointing both fists to her ninja.

"FOR OUR VILLAGE!" everyone chorused.

"Prepare for loading and departure! We live within the half hour!" With that last command, the Uzukage flickered out of sight as the squads filed one by one past the stage of the pier and onto the schooner bustling with activity.

()()()()()

"Lord Orochimaru!"

"What is it, you measly little snot?" the Otokage demanded of the chunin that had burst unannounced into his throne room. "Cannot you see that I am busy?"

"My deepest apologies m'lord, but there is a problem at the entrance to the village!" the nameless ninja sniveled with his head bowed, his body having assumed the one-kneed position well out of range of sword's breadth of the dais the Snake Sennin's throne sat upon. "There is a large group of people, unidentified and unresponsive, obstructing the entrance and preventing the shinobi of other villages from entering! The guards sent me to request your attention in this matter!"

"Why didn't they just send for Kabuto or Sasuke-kun? I'm busy trying to figure out a small conundrum." Orochimaru's eyes closed and he took a deep breath. "All right then, let us just see what this big ruckus is all about then, shall we?"

Less than two minutes later, Orochimaru's golden eyes were scanning the area on the outside of his village gates, curious as to who would be so foolish to dare interfere with his plans on his own ground. He took note of the fact that nearly a score and a half-dozen cloaked figures were preventing almost five times as many visibly-marked ninja from entering.

"Who dares obstruct passage into my village? Show and introduce yourselves before I am pushed to summon Manda with you all as sacrifices!" he ordered, pointing his right hand at the figure in the center, closest to him.

"My my my, is this how you treat your visitors Hebi-teme?" came out a low female voice. "I'd think you would treat guests better than this, especially considering our purpose here..."

The powerful shinobi's eyes widened momentarily at hearing that voice. His lips twitched with anger as he squinted his eyes, watching as Kushina removed her hood. "Kushina Uzumaki, Shodaime Uzukage of the Village Hidden Beyond Land's End... What purpose do you speak of? Because, you surely are not referring to-"

"Yes Orochimaru, Shodaime Otokage of Otogakure," she interrupted. Snapping her fingers, all other cloaked figures standing behind her pulled down their hoods to reveal their headbands.

"We have come to compete in your Chunin Exams."

()()()()()

**So, even though I _said_ I was going to rewrite the previous chapters to this story, I decided that it was putting too much writer's block in my way. I mean, seriously! Almost six months since I made a noted update, and more than a _year_ since the last content update!**

**I couldn't leave you guys hanging any more like that!**

**I burned about the last month on how to actually go with this story since I made the decision to move forward, but I finally buckled down and stuck with this path after having rewritten the start of this chapter about a dozen times.**

**No promises on the frequency of my updates, just keep in mind that I'm going to be making more updates due to having more free time currently as I have less to do in World of Warcraft at this time.**


	36. Notices

Attention all loyal readers!

It has been hinted at in today's news update on the front page of the site that FF.N's admin team may be cracking down on content with explicit content relating to highly-detailed depictions of violence & sex. To all of you reading this, you all know that I myself am **_very_**much a part of that group of authors that, if they are indeed sifting through the hundreds of thousands of stories on here to eliminate offenders to the "no content beyond M" policy they made when they revised the site back in '02, will inevitably be banned.

As such, I'm making an account with AFF to backup my stuff - you'll be able to find me under the pen name "Magister_Krims" over there. I'll be working on transferring current projects over there for the next month or so, given the fact that on top of these new developments I'm moving to a new apartment not far from my new college on the 22nd, but that new place is a bit over a hundred miles away. Hence, the two updates I have semi-ready are having to be backburnered yet again (sorry folks!) in order for me to have everything prepped & ready.

Sorry that this isn't an update, but I just needed to let you all know what was going down. Especially as I won't back down, not after all the work I've put into these stories - I refuse to be censored!


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